


lovers of gay liberty

by leatherandlace



Category: Scandal (TV)
Genre: F/F, mellivia bitches, oblivious idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-07-11
Packaged: 2018-06-04 12:47:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 66,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6658312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leatherandlace/pseuds/leatherandlace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Olivia is asked on "The Liberty Report" to talk about Mellie, she launches the Mellie Grant campaign into to some serious (and very gay) trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some Mellivia multi chapter for y'all! This was actually a blast to write, and I'm already working on the second chapter, so hopefully this gets some good reviews. Oh, fair warning, in my fan fictions Mellie and Quinn are pretty good friends. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

**where quinn makes a questionable decision.**  
  
  
Quinn was sitting at the conference room table, eating Cheerios and contemplating whether or not she should go out with Charlie tonight when Olivia’s shrill ringtone rang from her office.  
  
  
It took her a moment to recognize that it was actually Olivia’s phone that was ringing, because Liv almost never let the phone leave her sight—it was practically glued to her side, ready at a moment’s notice so she could do something crazy like broker an impossible deal or talk the President out of a stupid plan he’d conjured up. In fact, Olivia had made it a point to buy pants with holes deep enough to carry a phone in (which she probably paid a lot of money for, for stylish women’s pants with pockets were especially rare). So why was it in her office, and not attached to Olivia’s hip?  
  
  
And then it donned on Quinn where Olivia was.  
  
  
She was outside of Olivia Pope  & Associates, walking the one and only Senator/Presidential Candidate Mellie Grant to her car, as if the Secret Service agents doing her bidding weren’t enough to keep her safe, as if she had to personally follow Mellie and make sure everything was perfect for her.  
  
  
If Olivia kept her phone close to her, she kept Mellie even closer; actually, scratch that, much closer. It was a running joke between her and Marcus (because Huck thought making fun of Olivia was akin to running a secret agency that killed people at the drop of a hat—oh, wait) that though Olivia was one of the most feared people in DC; she was on her knees for Mellie. And perhaps it wasn’t noticeable to really anyone else, but to Quinn and Marcus it was as plain as day.  
  
  
(It wasn’t as if Olivia wasn’t still Olivia. Oh, no, she was definitely still the hardheaded, independent Olivia Pope. She still had no problem solving cases and being incredibly badass.  
  
  
She was just a little, obliviously whipped.)  
  
  
So, considering the fact that Mellie needed escorting and Olivia was aware of this fact, it wasn’t all that much a surprise that she had forgotten her phone.  
  
  
But the real question was whether Quinn should answer it.  
  
  
She looked around to see if someone was watching her, then pushed herself out of the chair and ran into Olivia’s office, feeling as though she was doing something very wrong (she’s hacked into Liv’s email before, but this seemed a little over the line). After shuffling under some papers to find the phone (careful to remember where anything was in case of ambush), she made contact. Quinn looked at the name flashing in white on the screen with wide eyes: Sally Langston.  
  
  
What was Sally Langston calling Olivia for? You would think that once you publicly denounced someone by calling them a whore and a power-grabbing slut on television that calling them was off the table. But for Sally?  
  
  
This could be for Mellie’s campaign. It’s Sally Langston, for God’s sake; this could be an important thing for Mellie and Olivia. And in the time it would take to run the phone down to her boss, it would have already gone to voicemail. Knowing Sally, she’d probably just never call back, and who knows what this could be? Frankly, it could be anything from a mass murder case to an advancement in the campaign. In a moment of indecision, Quinn picked up the phone and pressed the accept button.  
  
  
“Olivia Pope & Associates, this is Quinn.” She held her breath, feeling a little uncomfortable at the fact that former Vice President and infuriating Republican Sally Langston was on the other end of the line.  
  
  
After a moment’s silence, “Hi, this is Sally Langston. I’m looking for Olivia.”  
  
  
“I’m sorry, she’s unavailable right now. Can I take a message?”  
  
  
Quinn could practically hear Sally rolling her eyes as she scrambled for a pen and paper. “I wanted to know if she would come on my show—it’s called Lovers of Liberty, I’m sure you’ve heard of it—to talk about Presidential Candidate Mellie Grant, but if Miss Pope is unavailable then too—“  
  
  
“No, no, this is a one time thing. What day?”  
  
  
“This Wednesday at 10 AM would be the preferred time.”  
  
  
Quinn scribbled down the date and time while nodding her head, “Sounds great.”  
  
  
“I’ll let my crew know. Oh, and Quinn? Tell your insufferable boss to answer her phone herself next time.” Sally hung up the phone, leaving Quinn to stand in Olivia’s office alone, clutching a done that wasn’t hers and wondering what the hell she just did.

  
  
**where optics are debated, and quinn is berated.**

  
  
  
“Quinn, I am not at all prepared to go on Sally’s show to talk about Mellie. To talk about other things, sure, but the campaign is still so fresh; so many things still need to be talked about. You shouldn’t have booked me.” To say that Olivia was angry might have been an understatement.  
  
  
As soon as Olivia got off the lift, Quinn told her what she had done, and Olivia—without saying a word—got back on the lift and returned two minutes later with a startled looking Mellie. (Quinn imagined Olivia running into the street, calling for Mellie to come back. So very rom-com.) After a few minutes of Olivia yelling at Quinn and Mellie standing off to the side looking uncomfortable, she started to settle down and weigh the options.  
  
  
  
“Liv, I know this is not as planned, but I think this could be good.” Mellie had taken her coat off and was sitting on the edge of the conference table, sort of enjoying a flustered Olivia—it was a rare sight indeed. A rare, pants-suited, wild-haired sight.  
  
  
Olivia rolled her eyes, “Perhaps this would be a good thing if it was in the middle of the campaign and the other candidates had set the standards. All this is is an attempt to stop us before we’ve even started. I bet you Hollis was behind this, that piece of scum.”  
  
  
“Liv,” Mellie leaned farther off the table and raised an eyebrow. It looked as though she was going to reach out, but she decided against it and grabbed the edge of the table.  
  
  
Olivia scoffed, “Mellie, you’re normally the one freaking out about tiny things, but when something big has happened, you’re all suave about it?”  
  
  
“I’m just saying we could swing this in our favor. You said you wanted other candidates to set the bar, but how about we beat Susan Ross in saying something we already know, and go on Lovers of Liberty to set the standards ourselves?” Mellie argued, looking to Quinn for support.  
  
  
Quinn nodded, “Mel’s right. It could make us look good.”  
  
  
“It could make us look pushy.”  
  
  
“But it will make us look smart.” Mellie hopped off the table and finally decided to grab Olivia’s hand (Quinn made a mental note to tell Marcus). “You have to admit that this is not as bad of a thing as you’re making it out to be.”  
  
  
Mellie’s back was to her, so Quinn couldn’t see the looks transpiring between the two women in front of her. However, they must have been significant, because a moment later Olivia gave in, “Okay, yes, maybe this isn’t so bad. We could spin this.” She pulled away from Mellie and started to pace a bit, “We’ll look smart, and we’ll set the bar. Doyle will look stupid, you know he hates to be beaten to the punch.”  
  
  
Mellie and Quinn smiled at one another, “There she is. Liv the master mind.”  
  
  
Olivia clapped her hands together (it wouldn’t be that bad, it was Mellie she was talking about, not an extremely hard subject), “Okay, let’s do this.”

  
  
**where sally langston starts a whole bout of shit.**

  
  
Marcus put a hand on each of Olivia’s shoulders, focusing her attention towards him and not the swarming makeup artists and crewmembers congregating around Sally like moths to a light. The set of Lovers of Liberty was a hectic place, no doubt, and it was very distracting indeed. Olivia wondered if this was on purpose, an attempt to screw people up before the show and take them off guard so that Sally could swoop in and tear campaigns and lives to smithereens.  
  
  
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous, it’s not like I don’t regularly appear on public television.” Olivia laughed and shrugged off Marcus’ hands.  
  
  
Marcus shrugged, “I don’t know, either, to be honest. You’ll do fine. I mean it’s Mellie we’re talking about.”  
  
  
“I know.”  
  
  
“You know every single thing about this campaign.”  
  
  
“I know.”  
  
  
“You know every single thing about Mellie.”  
  
  
“I know.”  
  
  
“You guys are like two peas in a pod.”  
  
  
“I know.”  
  
  
“So chill.”  
  
  
“I know, Marcus. Shut up and let me breath.” Olivia snapped, walking away from him only to walk right back so as to avoid talking to the crew. Her phone rang, vibrating against her side. Mellie’s name flashed on the screen (Marcus definitely noticed the smile that graced Olivia’s face when she saw this) and she answered it, “Mel? What’s up?”  
  
  
“I just wanted to wish you good luck before the show. I know you’re nervous, even though you shouldn’t be. You’ll do great—you always do.” Mellie’s supportive voice was extremely comforting, like a beacon of promise cutting through her anxiety.  
  
  
Olivia thanked her, but was interrupted by Sally yelling, “Two minutes people!” to everyone and anyone in sight.  
  
  
“Jesus, Liv, she’s crazy,” Mellie laughed, “I’m sitting in the office with Quinn and Huck. We’re eating popcorn—“  
  
  
“Save some for—“  
  
  
“I know, I know, save some for our celebratory dinner tonight. Don’t worry.” Olivia could hear Mellie’s smile through the phone.  
  
  
(Once Olivia agreed to appear on the show, Mellie wanted to make it up her, “How about later tonight we have a celebratory dinner?”  
  
  
Olivia rolled her eyes, “Celebratory?”  
  
  
Well, you’ll obviously knock it out of the park.” Mellie joked.  
  
  
“Let’s hope so,” Olivia smirked, “So, what do you have in mind for this so called celebratory dinner?”  
  
  
Mellie tried to mask her smile behind her hand, but not before Olivia spotted the flash of white teeth. “Well, the typical wine and popcorn—“  
  
  
“Of course.”  
  
  
“—Of course, indeed. We’ll order Gettysburger. Did you know they deliver?”  
  
  
“Yeah, Jake told me.”  
  
  
Mellie grimaced, “Ugh, Jake. Anyways, we’ll order Gettysburger, binge on freedom fries. You can pick the movie.”  
  
  
“I know just the one.”  
  
  
“What?”  
  
  
“It’s a surprise.” Quinn watch from afar as they laughed together, watched as they kept touching each other’s arms or looking at each other too long. Did they realize that they were flirting?)  
  
  
A crewmember walked up to her with the face of someone who was being stabbed, “Miss Pope, we’re on in a minute.”  
  
  
“Alright. I have to go, Mellie.”  
  
  
“Bye! Good luck.” She clicked off after a moment of silence, leaving Olivia to stare at Mellie’s contact photo. It was a picture of the pair holding up their wine glasses in front of an overflowing bowl of popcorn, under a huge knitted blanket, taken by Quinn when she walked into Olivia’s apartment and laughed at the sight.  
  
  
She pocketed her phone and watched as Sally scrambled onto her seat, shuffling a stack of papers and swiveling her little gavel in front of her. Marcus wished her luck, and she walked onto the stage.  
  
  
“Take a seat, Olivia.” Sally gestured to the seat beside her, smiling a wicked smile that Olivia hoped she would never have to see again after today. She sat down, crossing and uncrossing her legs. She fixed her blazer so it looked suitable for the camera. She prayed to every god out there that she wouldn’t screw this up for Mellie. A woman behind the camera held up four fingers, then three, two, one—  
  
  
“Good morning, lovers of liberty, and thank you for joining us on this beautiful Wednesday morning. As this presidential campaign begins, draining our hard earned money and weaning patience, I am here with one of the administrators of this trying season. Olivia Pope, campaign manager of Senator Mellie Grant, a Republican candidate.” The camera panned to Olivia, “Good morning, Olivia. Thank you for joining us.”  
  
  
Olivia smiled as genuinely as possible, “Good morning, Sally. Thank you for inviting me.”  
  
  
“So, let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?” Sally asked with a condescending smile. “It is common knowledge that you had an affair with the President. And, well, Mrs. Grant was married to him, yet you are running her campaign!”  
  
  
Olivia laughed along with Sally, “Yes, Sally, that’s true. It is also true that there were unpleasant feelings between Mellie and I after the affair was exposed, but we’ve moved past these feelings and have actually become great friends. But we’re not here to talk about my relationship with Mellie, are we?” She smirked at Sally, who made a big show of taking a deep, frustrated breath. Along with the crew’s eyes on hers, she could almost feel Mellie watching her through the cameras pivoting to catch her every move. She wanted to look into the camera and ask Mellie how she was doing. (“Doing this for you, Mel!”).  
  
  
“No, Miss Pope, no we are not.” And then began a stream of political questions, centered on what Mellie was standing for (abortion, foreign affairs, gun control, the list went on). Sally would try to knock her off guard and ask a personal question, but Olivia kept on pivoting to relevant issues, kept on bringing up Mellie—she was surprisingly good at that.  
  
  
After a particularly snarky answer from Olivia, Sally got this cold look in her eyes, then looked down at a paper that was shuffled to the front. “Now, no offense Olivia, but you live in DC. You aren’t a common citizen, whatsoever, traipsing through the Senate and the White House.” She turned to the camera, “So I ask you, lovers of liberty, what does the common American think of Mellie Grant? I brought some comments from Twitter, Facebook, etcetera, detailing just that.” She looked at Olivia with a cruel smile.  
  
  
“First comment: Mellie Grant is a frigid ice bitch who’s hair is the size of the Grand Canyon.” She chuckled to herself, “Clever. Second comment: Mellie Grant couldn’t care less about her husband, her children, or her friends, so how could she ever care about Americans? Third comment: Mellie Grant is the bitchiest whore—“  
  
  
“That’s enough, Sally.” Olivia, who had been sitting there lividly, finally interrupted.  
  
  
Sally gave a wide grin, “I’m sorry, is there something you’d like to say to these ‘common Americans?’”  
  
  
“Yes, I would,” Olivia sat up straighter in her chair, “Mellie Grant is one of the most respectable, kind, and caring people I’ve ever had the extreme pleasure to meet, and these comments are as degrading as one could ever be. Would a ‘frigid ice bitch’ stand for 14 hours in front of a disgruntled Senate to fight for the rights a woman should have over her own body? Would a ‘bitchy whore’ protect her children with a stunning vivacity when their father was shot? Would a ‘careless’ woman conduct countless interviews and charities and campaigns for the good of the American people? Would the people typing out these tweets ever do anything for the American people that Mellie Grant has? She is a very capable woman of any political power. She has the experience of a mother, of a woman, a wife, a scholar, a lawyer, and of a politician. She’s wonderful, Sally. Absolutely, incomparably wonderful. Any citizen would be lucky to have Mellie as president. And if I’m being honest, her hair isn’t too bad, either.” Olivia laughed, “So, yes, I have something to say to the common American: Mellie Grant as the President of the United States of America would be one of the best things that has ever happened to this country. And she’s not a bitchy whore, nor a frigid ice bitch.”  
  
  
Sally did not look at all surprised at Olivia’s monologue. In fact, she smiled. “So how does Senator Grant stand on the debate of gay marriage?”  
  
  
Olivia was taken aback by the sudden shift in topic, but quickly acclimated. “Frankly, it’s not really a debate to her. She believes that anyone should be able to get married and rejoice in love, regardless of sex. To her, love is love.”  
  
  
Sally laughed, leaning back in her chair for a full 30 seconds to just laugh. She leaned forward after a bit, giving one last chuckle, “Olivia, it was a rhetorical question.”  
  
  
“Excuse me?”  
  
  
“It is quite obvious that Mellie Grant supports gay marriage, because it is just as obvious that you two are in a relationship!”  
  
  
Olivia opened her mouth and closed it again. What the hell? Her mind was in overdrive, wondering how to respond to such an accusation, wondering why Sally even thought it was a possibility. How was it even a possibility? Sure, Mellie came over her place all the time after work to have dinner and hang out. Sure, Mellie often spent the day at OPA doing work instead at her own work place. And, yes, they’ve fallen asleep together more times than she could count, leaned up against each other, limbs all tangled. She’d admit to finding it quite amazing waking up next to Mellie, and to see her bleary morning smile. Perhaps she did find herself a little jumpy when she had to give Mellie shampoo or a towel when she didn’t have one in the shower. And, okay, it’s not as if Olivia hadn’t enjoyed looking at Mellie in a particularly tight dress every once in while. Sure, she was happiest sitting on her couch at three in the morning, laughing with Mellie for hours. But, dating? She would never go as far as to say that. “Um…wow. Mellie just got out of a marriage, Sally.”  
  
  
“That was a dodge if I’ve ever seen one.” Sally cut her off, “Alright, lovers of liberty, there you have it, a one on one session with Olivia Pope. I’ll see you next time.” She waved to the camera, the Lovers of Liberty theme song playing.  
  
  
She could hear Cyrus laughing all the way from the White House.  


  
**where opa sees a whole lot of gay.  
**

  
  
When Sally Langston accused Olivia of being in a relationship with Mellie, it took a couple minutes and a good amount of water for her to catch her breath and stop choking on her popcorn. But now, she was well, if not a little anxious for Marcus and Olivia to return from set. Quinn and Huck had been flitting around OPA, clicking away on their computers and coming damn near close to flipping out (as well as pretending not to notice the eye contact Mellie was trying to make).  
  
  
When she heard Olivia’s voice outside the conference room, Quinn was setting up different social media sites to different computers in order to see the backlash, and Huck was on the phone with whomever, but he was definitely arguing with someone.  
  
  
“Cyrus, I’m going to hang up now. You can tell Fitz he’s an asshole.” Olivia slammed through the door and threw her purse down onto the table, pointedly ignoring the eye contact Mellie was trying to make with her. “Quinn—“  
  
  
“I’m on the media.”  
  
  
“Good. Where’s Huck?” She peered into Huck’s office, seeing him on the phone, “Never mind, he’s already on it.”  
  
  
She started walking towards her office, but suddenly swiveled around and pointed at Marcus, “You’re on Mellie Duty. Keep it contained.” She ran into her office and slammed the door shut before Mellie could even finish calling her name.  
  
  
“What the hell?” Mellie stood up and stalked towards Olivia’s office. Marcus tried to stop her, but she slapped his hand away. She grabbed the door handle, only to find that it was locked, so she rapped on the door with surprising force and rattled it on its hinges. “Olivia, are you twelve? I mean, come on! Open the door!” Mellie yelled.  
  
  
No response. “I know you can hear me, Liv, I’m not stupid.” No response. “Olivia.” She rested her forehead on the door, the reality of what was happening crashing around her like bucket of ice water. The country thought she was dating Olivia Pope. The country thought she was gay. The country…well, truthfully, it wasn’t what the country thought that was bothering her the most, it was the fact that Olivia was not answering her and that was not what she needed at the moment.  
  
  
“Listen, Olivia.” She made her voice gentle, she tried to pretend like she was in the room, hands on Olivia’s shoulders, looking at her, being with her, “I’m not mad at you, okay? You made a mistake, that’s all right. We can fix this. Just open the door so we can talk, please.” It was a moment before she heard the tentative click of heels on wood, and the door opened to reveal Olivia’s face, which did not look very happy at all (in fact, she had a pool of tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill). Mellie slipped through the crack in the door and closed it behind her.  
  
  
Olivia crossed her arms, not sure what to do with her hands. Mellie was standing in front of her, looking all too calm yet all too emotional. She wanted to comfort Liv, but wasn’t sure how. “I just cost you your presidency.” She locked her jaw and looked anywhere other than Mellie’s face.  
  
  
“Oh, Liv, no.” She walked towards the woman across her and went to put her hands on her shoulders, to hug her, but it seemed awkward considering. She took a step back, then a step forward, finally deciding on resting a hand on Olivia’s elbow.  
  
  
She involuntarily leaned into the touch, looking up at Mellie, who seemed so genuine. “Mellie, the country thinks we’re gay.”  
  
  
“Oh, who cares what the country thinks? Their minds are as malleable as clay. A few well constructed interviews and they’ll be focused on another something or other. You know that.”  
  
  
“It’ll take a lot of work.” Olivia huffed, her jaw starting to ache from clenching it so tight. Mellie could see the muscles in her jaw working furiously, which made her want to reach her hand up to the curve under Olivia’s ear and rub her thumb against the skin, help her calm down. (She wanted to do a lot of things. Too many things.)  
  
  
Instead, however, she stepped away, “Well then let’s get out there and fix this.” Olivia only nodded, closing her eyes. Mellie could see her chest rising and falling with labored breaths, and she felt terribly useless just standing there.  
  
  
Olivia jerked her head towards the door, “You can go out and help Marcus. There are a lot of questions to be answered, and you need to make an official statement. I have to make some calls.” She turned around and walked towards her desk before Mellie could even react. The image of Olivia walking away angry brought back so many ugly memories, memories of Olivia walking out of the Oval, walking out of her life and towards Fitz for so many years. She couldn’t stand it—this newly built wall between them. This wedge driving between them was not going to happen.  
  
  
“Liv, wait—“ She jogged towards Olivia and spun her around, pulling her into a tight hug before Mellie could stop herself from doing otherwise. It took a moment before Olivia reacted, but she eventually sunk into the embrace, resting her hand on Mellie’s shoulder while Mellie rested her cheek on Olivia’s head. “This doesn’t change things for me.” She murmured, low enough so Olivia could barely hear it (if she didn’t it was just as well).  
  
  
Olivia let herself close her eyes and enjoy the closeness, the warmness and familiarity of Mellie’s arms around her. She let herself breathe in Mellie, let herself feel the tickle of Mellie’s hair on her cheek, let herself feel Mellie’s heartbeat racing against her chest. Then she pulled away, pulled away for good, she hoped. Mellie ignored the way her heart sped up, the feeling coursing through her when Olivia left her arms. She went to exit Olivia’s office to help Marcus on ‘Mellie Duty,’ but Olivia called her name.  
  
  
“Are we still on for our celebratory dinner tonight? Well, not so much celebratory anymore but…” The look on Olivia’s face said everything, spelled it all out for Mellie to decipher and analyze in the late hours of the night.  
  
  
Mellie let out a relieved sort of laugh, “Of course. I’ll be at your place at seven.”  
  
  
Both of them were smiling as Mellie left the office.

  
  
**  
where mellie and olivia’s supposed relationship goes viral**.

  
  
The members of Olivia Pope  & Associates—along with a sullen Mellie Grant—had been watching the hash tags #dodgeifiveeverseenone, #itwasrhetorical, #mellivia, #frigidicebitch and most prominently, #theFirstLesbian rising as some of the top trending hash tags on Twitter. Olivia had been ranting that they weren’t even creative, and that if they were going to insult Mellie then they should do it properly (much to Mellie’s chagrin). The tweets attached to these trending insults varied from mockeries of their supposed relationship, to carefully crafted mockeries of Mellie to—  
  
  
“Look at all these fan pages,” Quinn balked, scrolling for what felt like hours, “The interview was, what, 45 minutes ago and you already have fan pages.” Mellie rounded the table to stare at Quinn’s computer screen, which depicted several pictures of her and Olivia attending various social events, edits of them together, and posts exclaiming love for their relationship. (Mellie had to stop herself from telling Quinn to click on a picture that showed Olivia staring at her from across a crowded hall. There were many people in the picture, but the two of them were the only ones not grayed out. They were in bright, contrasting color, and it definitely looked as though Olivia was staring at her.)  
  
  
“The gay communities are going crazy. The prospect of the first gay president is, well, like anything to do with gay people—some are furious, some are ecstatic, almost none are neutral.” Huck announced, and Mellie tore her eyes away from a picture of Olivia staring at her butt (that didn’t happen really, did it?) on Quinn’s computer. She walked towards Huck, looking at the several tabs he had open of LGBT pages, all of which were exclaiming their enthusiasm for her newly found gayness. (There was one account called @GayMellieForPrez, their profile picture being her and Olivia with a rainbow flag in the background.)  
  
  
“I’m sorry, guys, but the negatives are outweighing the positivity here. People are a lot more furious than they are ecstatic.” Marcus frowned apologetically at Mellie as she stopped watching people think of her as some sort of gay idol on Huck’s screen. She didn’t even bother looking at Marcus’. She didn’t think she’d be able to handle the extreme criticism that was obviously pouring her way—she’d much rather prolong her exposure to that for as long as possible. It was bad enough that her father had been ringing her nonstop since the interview. Mellie didn’t want to take that phone call ever.  
  
  
“Everyone shut up—Abby’s on.” Olivia shushed the group, turning up the volume on the largest TV on the wall. Abby was standing at the Podium, quieting everyone in the room.  
  
  
Abby looked distressed up there (but she hadn’t seen the last of it, Mellie was sure Abby didn’t have nearly as much stress as her right then), “The President has no comment on the sexuality of his ex wife at this moment. And, no, Senator Grant has not contacted us, so stop asking us, Julie. No, the White House does not plan on looking into Senator Grant’s sexual background, nor the sexual background of Olivia Pope.”  
  
  
“Oh, just turn it off.” Mellie grabbed the remote out of Olivia’s hands and shut the TV off, throwing the remote down and stalking off into the kitchen. Once behind the safety of the door, she put her head in her hands, breathing deeply, trying to calm down her racing heart. She could feel a lump forming in her throat, feel her throat closing up. Of course Fitz would tell Abby to not say anything, it was as if he was confirming the fact that she was gay. The nerve of him. After all they’d been through, he chose to throw her under the bus one last time. Actually, not the last time, Mellie was sure he would do it every chance he got.  
  
  
Ever since Mellie yelled at him for having another sexual escapade before Teddy came for his visit, Fitz had been positively scathing. The last time she’d seen him was four days ago when she dropped Teddy off. They had gotten into an argument about Olivia, out of all people—or, rather, how she was the one seeing her lately. If someone had told her that she’d be the one fighting for Olivia’s time, that she’d much rather lose the Presidency than lose Olivia, she’d have slapped them. But, now, to his obvious jealousy, she laughed, and told him to screw himself. Being able to freely swear at Fitz and storm out of the White House without having to pretend like she was a brainless wife that never got frustrated with him was one of the many perks of being divorced.  
  
  
Olivia poked her head into the kitchen, “You alright, Mel?”  
  
  
“Yeah, I just need a minute.” Mellie ran her hands through her hair, “I can’t believe Fitz told Abby to deny.”  
  
  
Olivia closed the door to the kitchen behind her, “Well, what was he supposed to say”  
  
  
“It’s what I would have done, I know. But still.”  
  
  
“I know.” They sat in silence, leaning against a countertop. Olivia knew that behind the kitchen door there was so much to be done, so many steps she had to take to fix this massive screw up. But the world they were in right now, the world with just the two of them, was much more appealing to her.  
  
  
Mellie turned to meet Olivia’s eyes. She was expecting hardness, but instead there was a look of wonder. She stared for a moment, and then shook it out of her head. “How’s my girlfriend doing with all of this?”  
  
  
“Oh my god.” Olivia laughed, smacking Mellie’s shoulder, “This is so crazy.” And then the two of them were laughing, the hilarity/stressfulness of the situation finally catching up with, accumulating so that the relief of laughing together was much needed. It was like the tension was lifted off of them.  
  
  
Olivia threw her hands in the air, “I mean, us? Dating? That’s crazy!”  
  
  
Mellie was laughing next to her, leaning into Olivia’s body and then finally resting her head on her shoulder, a little smile gracing her lips. And once Olivia finally stood still and felt Mellie’s heartbeat next to her chest, could hear her even breaths, could smell her perfume and feel Mellie’s firm shoulders pressing against hers, Olivia realized she didn’t think it was crazy at all.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe all the wonderful comments I got on the first chapter! I hope this one's as good as the first.

**where mellie is subject yet again to paparazzi**.  
  
  
After a long day of phone calls and negotiations and immense social media purging, the members of OPA finally called it a day and packed up for the night.   


 

(“I’ll see you at seven?” Olivia said as she pulled on her coat.   


 

Mellie shrugged on her own and nodded her head, “Yes, Liv. I am willing to battle the cameramen bound to be outside your apartment. I’ll be there.” They smiled at one another with barely contained excitement, and finally Huck joined in on Marcus and Quinn’s knowing glances.)   


 

As promised, Mellie was on her way to Olivia’s apartment, her hands gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles were white. She had a weird anxiety about the dinner, weird because it certainly wasn’t the first time she’s been here for dinner, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. 

  
  


She knew as soon as she got even close to Olivia’s that she would be hounded by cameramen, and they’d be pushing up against the car and calling her gay, taking pictures, posting them everywhere and calling her the First Lesbian. She knew as soon as she rounded Olivia’s street that her presidency was at stake, so the anxiety bubbling in her belly and climbing up her throat wasn’t too shocking.    


 

And, god, the parking was sure to be Hell.   


 

As horrible it would be going into this, as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the apartment, as soon as she saw Olivia’s face, really, she knew it’d be worth it. Even now, she could see Olivia’s face smiling at her, telling her to keep driving, telling her to loosen the grip on the steering wheel a bit, Mellie, you’re going to hurt yourself.    
  


 

She saw the Olivia’s street sign at the end of the road, a ‘warning’ sign in its own right. She raced down the road, ignoring the nasty voices in the back of her mind telling her to turn back.    
As soon as she turned the corner, a swarm of cameramen turned their heads to see the car. It took a moment, but a wave of recognition fell over them (perhaps they saw her anxious face through the window, or maybe they even recognized her car). She could see heads whipping, waving others over, lips yelling “It’s Senator Grant!”    
  


 

And like a tsunami, they ran toward her.

 

  
She slowed it down so as not to run over a dozen people and make national news, but she kept a steady face. Mellie locked her doors and double-checked. She tried her best to keep her eyes straight ahead, but she couldn’t ignore the banging of angry hands on her windows, the screams of several people trying to puncture the safety of her car. After about ten minutes of her ignoring the cameramen and moving at the pace of an ant, she found a parking space (she thought she was going to have to go down another street to get one, what a surprise).   
  


  
“Alright, Mellie.” She whispered, gearing herself up. She grabbed her purse from the passenger seat and pushed the door open (catching a couple people in the way). In a way Fitz had taught her many, many years ago, she waved her arms about while keeping them close to her head, pushing through the crowd. The cacophony of questions rung around her like a hornets nest.   
  


  
“Senator Grant, are you in a relationship with Olivia Pope?”   
  


  
“Mrs. Grant, how do you feel about the President's refusal to acknowledge the situation?”   
  


  
“Mellie, how did your relationship with Miss Pope start?”   
  


  
“Senator, why are you at Miss Pope’s apartment? What are you two doing tonight?”   
  


  
Mellie didn’t answer anything, didn’t even acknowledge the fact that they were talking to her (a strategy that Olivia taught her). This strategy worked, because before long—though it seemed as though it took forever—she had arrived at the doors of the apartment. She pushed through the front doors and into the lobby, shutting the door behind her and giving a little wave to the swarm outside.    
  


  
(While driving here, she thought of Olivia being bombarded by paparazzi, and turning to look at them at the front doors, where she publicly admitted to sleeping with Fitz. She remembered with clarity the anger that coursed through her when she saw that in the Press Room, remembered how her world was crashing around her, and all Fitz did was have the audacity to smile like it was the best thing that ever happened to him.   
  


  
Mellie wondered what would happen if she turned outside the doors just like Olivia did, allowed microphones and cameras to be held in her face, and say, “Yes, I am sleeping with Olivia Pope.”   
  


  
Of course, she wasn’t, but what a parallel that would be.)   
  


  
The shouts from outside were slightly muted, but she could see cameras flashing, so she bolted into the nearest elevator before they could take pictures of the indecision and relief clearly written across her face. As the elevator doors closed around her, she could see the headlines now: Mellie Grant sneaks into girlfriend Olivia Pope’s apartment; Lesbians Mellie Grant and Olivia Pope have a late night together. 

 

  
God.   
  


  
Olivia as her  _ girlfriend _ ? All day, with all of the scrolling through “Mellivia” fan pages, denying they were together over the phone, reading web articles, she still hadn’t sat down and thought about the fact that the country thought she was dating Olivia Pope. The country thought that she was having sex with Olivia every time she could get the chance, that they were making out after debates and getting ready for press conferences together like a married couple.    
  


  
Olivia was her best friend. They definitely got ready for press conferences together, but they were  _ not _ making out and having sex on every surface in sight. (She wanted to rebuke that by saying that she wasn’t her husband, and she could keep her pants on when it came to Olivia. But she knew it would hurt Liv’s feelings if she said it, so she never did.)   
  


  
The elevator to Liv’s apartment had seen much of her lately, in all different states. It had seen her very drunk, leaning against Olivia like a life support after she had come to Mellie’s house following a drunk phone call. It had seen her and Olivia hold hands and hug after a successful evening. It had seen her standing by herself, waiting with folded hands and a small smile to see the one person she felt truly comfortable with, the one person (of her own age) that just the thought of seeing was like an immediate booster.    
  


  
When the elevator doors were open, she expected no one, but Olivia was there, staring at her with worried eyes. (That was a common theme in Mellie’s life lately: She expected no one, but gets Olivia.)   
  


  
“Mellie!” Olivia pulled her out of the elevator and into a tight hug, burying her head in Mellie’s shoulder, “I was so worried…I saw you on the TV driving here, so I figured I’d meet you halfway.”   
  


  
Mellie smiled at her, stepping out of the embrace, “It was pretty hectic, I’m not going to lie. I’m sure half of America thinks we’re about to have some hot lesbian sex right now.”    
  


  
“Oh my god, Mel.” Olivia grabbed her hand and led her into the open door of her apartment before Mellie could see her blush. She was probably right, though.    
  


  
Once inside the apartment, Mellie tentatively let go of Olivia’s hand and took off her coat, draping it on the rack—she had claimed one of the hooks long ago. “So.” She clapped her hands together, “Shall we get the wine?”   


 

“I’ll be right back with that, Your Majesty.” Olivia laughed at her, walking towards the kitchen. As soon as she was out of sight, Mellie ran towards the window that faced the street below, slightly pulling back the curtain to see the mess she had left. Cameramen still spotted the road, clogging up the now empty street.   
  


  
She felt a hand on her back, “It’s a mad house out there.” Olivia was now standing next to her, her hand pressing into Mellie’s dress and her breath on the back of her neck. Mellie wanted to laugh at what the cameramen were missing, and if they only could see through curtains, they’d have quite the sight—Olivia practically pressed up against her, and Mellie’s surprised but pleased face. “I was worried you’d turn back.” Olivia said.   
  


  
“And abandon our dinner? No way.” Mellie smiled at her, “Plus, it’s not like me showing up at your apartment means we’re dating. You’re my campaign manager.”   
  


  
“But we’re dating.”   
  


  
“We’re not, though.”   
  


  
“They don’t know that.”    
  


  
“Mhm.” Mellie walked away from Liv at that point, wondering if she’d ever get to show up at Olivia’s apartment unannounced anymore. That was one of her favorite things to do, just show up at random times with a bottle of wine.   
  


 

(One time she knocked on the door after just spending an impressive sum of money on Olivia’s favorite bottle, only to have Jake freaking Ballard answer— _ shirtless _ . He hadn’t even told Liv she was there, just said, “She’s sleeping.” He had this little smirk on his face, like he wanted her to  _ know _ he was screwing her best friend in the other room. She shoved the wine into his ridiculously bare chest, and then stormed off into the elevator.   
  


  
Driving home, she had felt this wave of rage, and she had no idea why.)   
  


  
Of course, Mellie knew this would all blow over eventually, but when? It had only been a day and already she could feel the tension between her and Olivia, driven between them like a wedge.   
  


  
“It’ll all be over soon.” Olivia reassured, voicing her thoughts. “And once this blows over, we can accuse Doyle of sleeping with his campaign manager.”   
  


  
Mellie laughed, and was about to respond with a joke about Elizabeth and Susan together, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door.   
  


  
Mellie whipped her head towards the sound, Olivia already going to answer it, “Is that a camera man? They can’t come up here, can they?”   
  


  
“Calm down, Mel, it’s just the Gettysburger guy.” She reassured, but internally she was worried, “Go in the other room though so he doesn’t see you.”

  
  
“Why?”   
  


  
“Just do it.” Mellie rolled her eyes and stalked off into the kitchen while Olivia opened the door.    
  


  
The Gettysburger employee was a freckled teenage boy, whose hair was overly ruffled—probably from the horde of people outside, inevitably grabbing him and asking about Olivia and Mellie. Poor kid.    
  


  
“Um, hi. I have your food.” He held up several bags filled with their favorites (and a extra large freedom fry for Mellie).    
  


  
“Yes, thank you.” She grabbed her purse from the table next to the door, pulling out a thick wad of cash—$500 at least.    
  


  
The boy’s eyes bulged, “Ma’am, it’s only $36.50.”   
  


  
“I know,” she leaned in close to him, trying to muster up an intimidating glance, “What’s the highest bid you got from one of those camera men?”   
  


 

He shuffled his feet, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”   
  


 

“It couldn’t have been more than 300, I’ve dealt with these people before. I’m sure they want an eyewitness, telling them exactly what you saw up here. But,” she looked at his nametag, “ _ Clarence _ , you’ll get all $500 if you tell them exactly what you see here.” She gestured to an empty room behind her, “Mellie’s in the bathroom. We’re working.”   
  


  
“But I don’t see any work—“   
  


  
“We’re  _ working _ .” She pushed the money into his hands, grabbing the bags in return. “Are we clear?”

  
  
Clarence looked at the wad of cash in has hands, and then vigorously shook his head.   
  


 

“Alright then.” Olivia smiled at him, shutting the door. She stole one of Mellie’s freedom fries from the bag, hoping that Mellie couldn’t see.   


  
  
**where mellie grant just mellie can’t**.  


  
  
Two cheeseburgers, one large fry, and three bottles of wine later, Olivia and Mellie were, to put it quite frankly, drunk.  


 

“ _ Mellie _ ,” Olivia said her name through laughter, doubled over while trying hard not to spill her glass, “Can you imagine Fitz’s face when he found out we were dating?”    


 

Mellie let out a bark of laughter, imitating a face like she just smelled something bad and was about to cry at the same time. “Probably like that.”   


 

This was not the first of these exchanges. They would sit in silence for a bit, listening to Olivia’s records playing in the background and drinking copious amounts of wine. Then one of them would say something out of the blue, causing the other to burst into a fit of laughter. Mellie couldn’t remember the last time she had this fun.   
  


 

“When Sally said we were dating, I imagined Cyrus laughing—“   
  


 

“ _ Oh my god, _ he totally would!” Mellie laughed, 

  
  


“And Fitz probably just stood there all flabbergasted.” She grabbed Liv’s hands and imitated Fitz, “Cyrus, help! My ex wife stole my mistress!” She fake wailed, collapsing into Olivia’s chest after laughing for a bit.   


 

Olivia’s mind was a little hazy, and she decided she quite liked the feeling of Mellie curled up on her like that. She wrapped her arms around her, using one of her hands to play with Mellie’s hair and the other to keep Mellie close to her. “He called me today.” Olivia said quietly.   


 

“Fitz?” Mellie arched her head to look at Olivia, but didn’t move out of her arms, “When?”   


 

Olivia shrugged, “No, Cyrus called on behalf of Fitz.” She rolled her eyes, “Apparently Fitz is just really angry about the fact that we’re ‘dating.’” Olivia didn’t mention all the horrible, nasty things he called Mellie on the phone, and how she was so angry at Cyrus and Fitz and Sally and herself at the moment that she had not mentioned that they were, in fact, not sleeping together.   


 

“Did you tell him we’re not dating?” Mellie joked, moving herself closer to Olivia, telling herself she didn’t enjoy being held like this. It had been so long since someone held her as Olivia did now. Sure, Fitz had lay with after Jerry’s death, but he didn’t love her then, didn’t cherish her. It wasn’t that Olivia loved her, per say, but she felt that Olivia’s affection was genuine, whereas Fitz was just going through the motions.   


 

Olivia felt Mellie move closer, pull her arms tighter around her, and chose not to answer. The wine was buzzing all throughout her body, and wherever Mellie was touching was like fire, scalding her skin. She wasn’t sure she minded. 

  
  


“Mel?”   


 

“Mhm?”   
  


 

There were so many things Olivia wanted to say in that moment.  _ I’m sorry for risking your presidency. I’m sorry for ruining your marriage and making your life miserable for so long. I’m sorry for making America think we’re dating. I’m sorry that your ex husband has Cyrus call me before you. I’m sorry. _ “I'm sorry.”   


 

Olivia didn’t know if she couldn’t hear her or if she had nothing to say, but Mellie didn’t answer. After a long while, so long that Olivia didn’t think she was going to answer at all, Mellie whispered, “I am too.”   


 

Neither of them really knew what the other was apologizing for, but it stood by itself, a heartfelt, drunken apology for all the terrible things they’d done to each other.    


 

They sat in silence for a bit before Mellie broke from Olivia’s grasp and stood up, “Let’s go to bed.” Mellie reached down to grab her hand, and after a moment Olivia took it.    
  


  
Mellie led them through the hallway to Liv's bedroom, her drunken brain telling her legs to move a bit slower than normal. When they got there, Olivia crawled into the big bed, relishing in the way her body sunk into the mattress after an incredibly long day.    
  


  
"Night, Liv." Mellie whispered, aching to be back on the couch, held in Olivia's embrace. For a moment, with Olivia's arms around her, she thought that maybe things were going to be okay. That maybe they'd move past this whole Sally Langston fiasco, that the country would forgive and forget, that she would make it to the Oval, that she would be President of the United States, and Olivia would be right there by her side.    
  


  
Mellie started walking out of the room, but Olivia called her name, "Where are  _ you _ going?"    
  


  
"To my room." Of course, it wasn't actually  _ her _ room, but she had slept over so many times that she had filled the guest room's closet with her clothes, and Olivia thought of it as Mellie's room.    
  


  
(Though Mellie had her own bed in the guest room, she rarely slept there. Olivia would always invite her to stay in her room, and she would always accept, either because she was too tired or drunk, or maybe she just liked the little arrangement they had.)   
  


  
Olivia patted the spot next to her--the spot where Mellie always slept, the right side of the bed. "Oh, no you're not. Come on."    
  


  
Mellie crawled into the bed without any indecision, without a moment's hesitation. As soon as she was under the fluffy duvet, Olivia scooted into her, pulling Mellie's arms around her. "Is this alright?" Olivia whispered.

  
  
"Of course." Mellie laid her head next to Olivia's, put a leg in between hers, wondered what the hell they were doing and why she had decided to drink so much when she knew this was going to happen.    
  


  
But,  _ damn _ , did it feel good to be this close to someone. Someone who she truly cared for.    
  


  
And,  _ damn _ , did it feel good that Olivia cared for her, too.    
  


  
"Goodnight, Mel." Olivia whispered, and they were so close that Mellie could feel the words throughout her whole body. Though her veins were buzzing with wine and the proximity she currently had to Olivia, Mellie drifted off to sleep, while news casters outside were reporting that Senator Mellie Grant had not yet left the building.

  
  
  


**where fitz’s true colors are yet again displayed.**

  
  
  


Mellie Grant was in a horrible mood, and her incompetent assistant was not helping. 

  
  


“You know what, Amber, just take the day off please.” Mellie groaned, putting her head in her hands while Amber stood like a lost puppy in the doorway. 

  
  


She gripped onto the folder in her hands, “I'm sorry, ma’am, I didn't know that you and Olivia--”

  
  


“I'm not mad, Amber, i'm just frustrated. Just take the day off so I don't end up yelling at you more than I already have. You'll still get paid.” After a few more apologies, her assistant put on her coat and left the building, leaving Mellie alone.

  
  


It had been two days since Olivia appeared on Lovers of Liberty, and the media was still going strong with their supposed relationship. Earlier this morning, an article had been released. It was titled, “Mellivia Through the Years,” and if that hadn't been embarrassing enough, as if she was just some celebrity that the public could ogle at, the article was made up of gooey little lies. It had made it seem like they were a story, “kept apart by the most powerful man in the country,” and “brought together by yet another campaign.” Amber had came into her office, clutching the article, and spewed about “how cute” her and Olivia were, and went on this whole rant saying how she’s “totally okay” with gay people, and went on and  _ on,  _ until Mellie snapped at her. 

  
  


It wasn't as if Amber was doing anything wrong, it was just that it had been three days of all this horrid gossip, and it was making her look like a fool. Hollis and Susan and been like a pair of vultures, tearing into her and saying she was clogging up the campaign with unimportant things like relationships. And they weren't wrong either, which was even worse. Mellie would much rather comment on the rights of women and what she would do as president, rather than answering dozens of questions on what her and Olivia liked to do in bed. You would think everyone would take the  _ hint  _ of the fact that they weren't even dating. But no. 

  
  


She groaned into her hands and picked up the phone to call Olivia (who had been equally swamped with accusations), only to have her phone ring instead. 

  
  


Except it wasn't Olivia calling, it was Fitz. 

  
  


Fitz had been silent throughout this whole fiasco, still refusing to comment to the press, still making her look like an idiot. He hadn't called her yet, so she hadn't called him. She knew she had to face the music soon, because they were bound to see each other when she dropped of Teddy, but she'd been putting it off. 

  
  


Mellie picked up her phone, took a deep breath, then answered it. “Hello?”

  
  


“ _ Mellie _ . How's my ex wife doing?” She could hear sarcasm dripping in his voice. 

  
  


“Wonderful. And you?”

  
  


Fitz clucked his tongue, “Do you ever miss the scotch here? You used to drain this stuff like it was water.” She couldn't even see him, yet his face irritated her. Mellie could see his little smirk, and wondered again how she ever stood in the same room as him for more than a minute, and for  _ twenty years. _ “I’m having some right now.”

  
  


“Fitz, why are you calling?” 

  
  


He laughed, “I wanted to talk about your girlfriend.”

  
  


“You do know Olivia and I aren't dating, right?” Out of all the conversations she didn't want to have with Fitz, this was on the top of her list.

  
  


“Sure you're not.”

  
  


“We really aren’t.”

  
  


“Again, sure.” Mellie could hear him put his feet up on the desk, and the sight of him there, in the Oval  _ she  _ put him in, drinking scotch and enjoying his life, sent a wave of hatred over her. “I never knew you were gay, Mel. I mean, now it all makes sense. Why you ruined our marriage. Why you always went toe to toe with Liv, you probably liked it. Why you hated me.”

  
  


“I--” She clenched her fists, “I’m not gay. And I hated, sorry,  _ hate,  _ you for other reasons. You're an insufferable, narcissistic asshole, that's why I hate you. And you still holding on to that silly accusation that  _ I  _ ruined our marriage, I can't believe it.”

  
  


She could  _ see  _ him roll his eyes, “No, hear me out. Everything makes sense, now. You never hired men, your entire office was women. How many of them did you screw? Oh, God, how many times you must have screwed Elizabeth North.”

  
  


“ _ Excuse me _ ?--”

  
  


“Oh my god, shut up. I'm trying to talk--”

  
  


“No,  _ I’m  _ talking. I didn't  _ screw  _ any of my staff, or Elizabeth North. I’m not you, Fitz. And I don't know if you're drunk or what, but you will not speak to me that way. I don't care if you hate me, I don't care if you're angry or jealous or mad at Olivia, I’m not your rag doll any more, that you can just throw around and yell at. I'm not your wife anymore, you can't just scream at me and accuse me of being a liar or a whore, that doesn't  _ happen _ . Now, is there anything you want to tell me that's actually important, or shall I hang up?” Mellie was seething, and she was glad Amber was away because if she had come in here Mellie would have torn her to pieces. 

  
  


Fitz didn't respond, just poured some more scotch into his glass. 

  
  


“No? Okay, goodbye--”

  
  


“Did my father turn you gay?” He said it so calmly, so casually, as if he wasn't saying something that was so messed up and  _ horrible,  _ as if he wasn't being cruel. As if he wasn't bringing up something terrible that happened to her, making into some kind of sick, backhanded question. 

  
  


Mellie blanched, and her stomach turned. Her hands were shaking, making it hard for the phone to stay in place, “ _ What _ did you just say?”

  
  


“Did my father turn you gay, when he raped you?” Fitz’s voice was cold, “Was it so horrible that you switched to liking women, that the thought of a man repulsed you? Did my  _ father turn you--” _

  
  


She hung up. 

  
  


She hung up, placed the phone on her desk, set down the pen that she was holding, and took a deep breath. Mellie looked out the window that was next to her desk, watched the cars roll by and saw the White House in the distance, a beacon of power for all those in her country. But to her, she thought as a tear slid down her cheek, it held the cruelest man alive. 

  
  
  


**where everything is normal for like two seconds.**

  
  
  


Quinn thrived on energy. She thrived on constant fast paced moments, which was why working at Olivia Pope & Associates was so good for her. 

  
  


Ever since the whole Sally Langston thing (which she and Marcus had been calling the Gay Fiasco), however, the mood of the office has been one of impending doom. Olivia was constantly worrying, worrying about the campaign, worrying about Mellie, just worrying. And because Olivia was so out of wack, so was Huck--if Quinn thrived on a fast pace, Huck thrived on Liv. The only person she could count on was Marcus, because he always seemed to have smart remarks for everything, and she appreciated the sarcasm. 

  
  


Actually, she could count on two people. Marcus and Mellie. 

  
  


When Mellie decided to drive down to the office and grace their presence with hers, Olivia’s mood shifted like the tide. Grumpy Olivia turned into a happier person, one who smiled constantly and actually came out of her office to do something that wasn't giving them another job. And even after Mellie left, her presence was still there, like a Mellie-Shot that kept Olivia energized and running. 

  
  


When Mellie texted Olivia that she was dropping by, Olivia immediately came out of her office and announced this to them. (Quinn and Marcus looked at each other as they normally did whenever Mellie was mentioned.) Olivia then smiled and nodded to herself, walking back into the office. Quinn quite liked Mellie. She thought she was a great person overall, and she also thought she'd make a great president--she also approved of her for Olivia, but they weren't actually dating. 

  
  


(When they were accused of being in a relationship, Quinn had actually thought it was true for a while. Even before the interview she was sort of convinced they had something going on. But Mellie had choked on her popcorn, and when Quinn asked if it was true she had declined profusely. 

  
  


However, they all saw that hug Mellie and Olivia shared when Olivia got back, and they all saw Mellie’s face when she left after that. It didn't seem all that unrealistic that they were together. They did spend the night with each other all the time, as well as eat dinner together and work together, and Teddy even called her Aunt Liv. 

  
  


So either they were together and just denying it, or they really were  _ that  _ oblivious. Either way, there was definitely something gay going on there.)

  
  


Mellie burst through the door and yelled, “Hello, everyone!” She never just walked in, she always threw the door open and announced to everyone that she was there--like they couldn't hear her heels from a mile away, or they didn't see her brightly colored clothes as soon as she stepped in the room. 

  
  


Olivia threw her office door open with equal intensity, yelling Mellie’s name. They hugged, pulling apart and talking but still keeping their arms wrapped each other. Mellie turned to the three of them sitting at the conference table and watching the two women interact. “Hey, guys!”

  
  


“Hey, Mellie.” They chorused back--even Huck, who Quinn thought was secretly starting to like Mellie, even though he pretended he didn't. 

  
  


Mellie took a chair at the table, folding her hands in front of her. “So, I wanted to order food for everyone.” Marcus, who had been craving takeout, pumped his fist in the air. And Olivia, who couldn't care less what they were having as long as Mellie was there, smiled brightly and took a seat next to Mellie. 

  
  


After a couple minutes of arguing on which takeout to get, they settled on pizza, and Marcus ordered it so it didn't look as though Mellie was eating with them (they didn't want to alert the media). 

  
  


As the five of them sat around the table, laughing and waiting eagerly for the food to arrive, Mellie thought to herself that perhaps having this be her new family wasn't so bad after all. 

  
  
  


**where something really bad happens.**

  
  
  


When Mellie walked into work the next morning, she was in a surprisingly good mood. The night before had been one of the best she’d had in a while, staying at OPA late with everyone, eating pizza and drinking a huge bottle of vodka that Quinn had pulled from her desk. They had a great night, and Mellie crashed at Olivia’s place. 

  
  


(They didn't sleep together like they had the last time, but Mellie still enjoyed it. She had woken up before Liv and made her breakfast, something she had never done before. When Olivia woke up and stumbled into the kitchen to the smell of pancakes and bacon, she had been surprised with the sight of Mellie at the stove, wearing an oversized shirt and leggings. 

  
  


“Morning, Liv.” Mellie had turned back and smiled at her. She served breakfast and made Olivia coffee just the way she liked it--she even put in a little more sugar, because she knew Olivia liked more than she said she did. 

  
  


Watching Mellie dance around her kitchen with a little messy bun and pajamas, making breakfast and doting on her, it was like they really  _ were  _ dating.)

  
  


When she walked into her office, she saw a thoroughly nervous Amber, and because she was in such a good mood, she apologized. “I'm sorry for snapping at you the other day. I was extremely stressed.” 

  
  


“Oh, it's totally fine, Mellie.” Amber smiled, as surprised as she was pleased at the apology. “Here's your mail.” 

  
  


Mellie picked up the stack of letters in her mail, probably yelling at her or demanding to know more about Olivia or her term as senator. In addition to the stack, there was a large packet, filled to the brim. 

  
  


Mellie frowned at it, wondering what it was. When she walked into her office, she shut the door behind her and threw the papers on the desk. She sat down and opened the packet, looking at who it was from, only to find no return address. 

  
  


She paused for a moment, but curiosity got the best of her. She opened the packet and dumped the contents out onto the desk. 

 

There were loads of pictures. 

 

She looked closer at one, picking it up and examining it. Once she realized what it was, she threw it down like it was on fire, dread pooling in her stomach. She looked around for someone to yell “surprise,” or for someone to be in the corner of her office, wearing some mask and black hoodie. But there was no one, only her own terror and the pictures on her desk.

 

Before her were dozens of pictures of her having sex with a woman. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliff hanger or what?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit long, and it's kind of a filler chapter when it comes to Mellie and Olivia's relationship. Next chapter, though, will have lots of tropes and fluffy goodness. 
> 
> So, this chapter is dedicated to pastillas and emma the commentators that have commented some wonderful things, and have been making this story a joy to write! I appreciate all the reviews, so thank you all much! I love you xoxox.
> 
> Also, my bestie has just posted a wONDERFUL Mellivia fic, go find it at aprosebyanyothername, the fic is called Popcorn and Wine, and it is my life, so you should definitely read it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**where olivia finds out something she did not know about mellie.**

Mellie was sitting on the couch of Olivia’s office, feeling very small, her cheeks burning with shame and worry for her future—as president _and_ as Olivia’s friend.

 

She walked into Olivia’s office after she had come to terms with the fact that, if she wanted this taken care of, she would have to face Olivia. So far, however, it was even more horrible than she thought it would be. Olivia had taken out the pictures with a collected expression, so cool and calm that Mellie couldn’t see through it at all, and she generally could. She took each picture out individually, mapping out the story on her desk, staring at them. And normally Mellie would have been embarrassed, but all she felt now was a strange feeling like she was telling Olivia she was cheating on her, which was strange because they weren’t dating, and these pictures were from long ago.

 

Olivia looked up at Mellie, “Alright then.”

 

“Alright then  _ what _ ?” She was wringing her hands together. She couldn’t tell at all what Olivia was thinking; there wasn’t one flicker of emotion in her eyes, not one giveaway in her body language. She was as stoic as ever.

 

Olivia gathered the pictures together, “Let’s go out and tell them.”

 

Mellie was going to argue, but instead she just agreed. Before they could exit the office, though, she grabbed Olivia’s arm, “Liv, please tell me what you’re thinking.”

 

Olivia bit her lip, finally letting herself show  _ something _ , but Mellie couldn’t figure out what it was. “I…don’t really know what I’m thinking.”

 

“Are you mad at me?” Mellie’s eyes started to water, and she was just so upset, because she didn’t what this meant for them. She didn’t really know anything at the moment. The only thing she could process was that Olivia was angry, and at her, and nothing else really mattered. 

 

Olivia shook her head, but reluctantly, “No, I’m not mad. I’m just surprised, I guess. I didn’t know you were gay.”

 

“ _ I  _ don’t know if I’m gay.” Mellie hadn’t let go of Olivia’s arm this whole time, but she did now. She turned away, putting her head in her hands, “My whole life was Fitz, Liv. I don’t know who I would have ended up with if it wasn’t him.”

 

Olivia couldn’t account for half the things she was feeling in the moment. She was a little angry, because she had been telling the country for the past three days that Mellie wasn’t gay, and now she was staring at a visual representation of Mellie sexually involved with a woman. And she was surprised because this was out of nowhere, and it was a big shock, after all. She was worried for Mellie, because this package didn’t have a return address and whoever sent it obviously was playing some sort of game. And she felt something else, too, some movement in her stomach, because Mellie was  _ gay _ . She had no idea how she felt about that.

 

Olivia walked towards Mellie, sitting them both down on the couch. “Are you okay?” She asked, grabbing her hands and holding them.

 

Mellie shrugged, finally letting some of the tears fall. She gave a watery laugh, “I don’t know. What do we do?”

 

“We find her. And we shut this down.” Whatever Olivia was feeling, she was going to put that aside, because this was Mellie. She would pull through for her.

**where opa takes mellie up as a client.**

“Carol Hood,” Quinn stated, slapping a picture of a blond woman with blue eyes onto the huge wall of windows of Olivia Pope & Associates, “Lives right here in D.C.”

 

“She does?” Mellie blanched, staring up at the face of the woman she once knew so well. Olivia was standing next to her seat, hands on Mellie’s shoulders.

 

Huck nodded, “Yes, she does, but not in the good parts. I know her, actually. She worked at the computer store I used to work at when Olivia was on the island.” Olivia looked down and stared at Mellie’s hair, silently loathing herself for ever going on that island with Jake. 

 

“She went to Harvard Law but dropped out three quarters of the way through. Her money went straight down the drain once she got mixed up in the world of drugs. Heroin addict for quite a while.” Marcus said, about to keep going before Quinn interrupted him.

 

“She went clean for about a year when she married Edgar Hood,” She slapped the corresponding picture of Edgar on the wall, “Known as Eddie, he got her back into drugs after revealing he was actually a dealer a year after they got married. He’s on the streets, and she works at the computer store to pay their bills. A true love story.” Mellie stared at the picture of Carol, the bags under her eyes and her sunken cheeks. She wondered if she’d have ended up like that if she stayed with her.

 

“The stage is yours, Mellie. Tell us everything.” Olivia sat down next to her on the table. All the eyes in the room were on her, waiting.

 

“Carol Hood,” Mellie started, slowly, “was Carol Howard when I knew her in college. It was before I really knew Fitz, which was towards graduation. We started dating almost as soon as I got to Harvard. Carol was older, though, in her junior year. She was my roommate's best friend—“

 

“Who was the roommate?” Olivia asked.

 

“Samantha Wilson.” Quinn scribbled the name down on a notebook.

 

Olivia told her to continue, so she sat back in her chair and started up again, “I was really studious in school, I never went out all that often, stayed in my room a lot. But Carol took a liking to me. She was older, more wild than I could ever be.” Mellie shook her head, “I was smitten, I guess. She intrigued me.”

 

They were all listening with rapt attention. Quinn was ecstatic; Mellie was gay! That meant her and Olivia could finally have a talk about how they’re both really gay, and how they’re super gay for each other, and then the office wouldn’t have so much pent up sexual tension. Quinn felt bad for Olivia in this whole thing, though. She looked like someone was stabbing her, listening to Mellie (she couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to hear the person you love talk about the person they love--or, loved).

 

“Anyways, Carol was always flirting with me, but I never reciprocated until one night when she brought over some beer. We got drunk, we kissed.” Mellie’s cheeks were burning from talking about all this. She hadn’t said anything about what happened with Carol out loud for so long, the last person being Samantha, her old roommate, “The next day she asked me to dinner, I said yes, and from there on out it was sort of official. I told her we couldn’t tell anyone. My family is homophobic as Hell, which is why I haven’t talked to my family yet during this whole thing,” Her father had left a single voicemail on her phone, the gist of it being that she’s excommunicated from the family. She hadn’t told Olivia about this, nor about her phone call with Fitz—she just didn’t know the right time to bring it up. 

 

Quinn took out the pictures of her and Carol screwing. There were twelve of them, all taken from outside of the window. Quinn had asked whether or not to hang them up, which Olivia promptly told her not to, due to the fact that every part of Mellie was bare for all to see. Mellie had thought everyone in the office would be scrutinizing them, but they hardly even looked at the photos.

 

(They all had a high amount of respect for Mellie, whether they would admit it or not. Mellie had done a lot for them, a lot for the country, and they weren’t going to stare at all her bits and pieces if they didn’t absolutely need to.)

 

“When were the pictures taken?” Huck asked.

 

“I don’t really know, to be honest with you.” Olivia could see the shame in her eyes, and she wanted to reach out and comfort her, but it seemed wrong.

 

Instead, she just took Mellie’s hand, “When and how did it end?”

 

“We were together for about eight months, all during my first year. Carol was being…reckless. While we were together I told her she had to calm it down with the drinking, and she did for a while, but then she started up again and wouldn’t stop. After a while I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I broke up with her.” Mellie shrugged like it was no big deal, leaving out the part where she had cried for weeks and missed Carol for so long, the part where she had lost herself for a bit after Carol. “It wasn’t long after we broke up that my father visited me and set me up with Fitz. After that, I only ever saw Carol one other time. She walked up to me with a beer in her hand and told me to go to Hell.” Mellie had stood, rooted in the same spot for a long time after Carol walked past her with a group of people, who were all drinking and rowdy. How could someone she loved so much turn against her so quickly?

 

“I didn’t even know she lived in D.C.” Mellie concluded, looking up at everyone, “And now here she is, out of the blue. How did anyone even get these pictures? Who the hell took them?”

 

Olivia would say something, but she honestly did not know. Carol wouldn’t have the photos taken if they were still dating at the time, and it's not like Mellie was involved with Fitz at the time, so it wouldn't be because of that. “I don’t know, Mel. We’ll find out, though.”

**where quinn is the platonic best friend mellie’s never had.**

After some talk on strategy, they had decided that tomorrow Huck would travel to the computer store and ask Carol to come to OPA to discuss with them. However, they needed another day to come up with an ultimatum they could present if she threatened to expose the pictures publicly, so they pushed it back a day.

 

Olivia had been aloof and distant the entire, and it was annoying the hell out of Mellie. Though Olivia never let go of her hand for as long as possible, gripping onto it like a lifeline, she wasn’t actually  _ talking _ . She wouldn’t tell Mellie what was on her mind, and she had no idea  _ why  _ Olivia was being like this, it wasn’t as if Mellie  _ wanted _ these pictures to be sent to her office.

 

The worst part wasn’t even that Olivia was mad, because it didn’t seem like she was mad, just upset. It reminded her of when she was little and she did something stupid, her father would pull her aside and say, “I’m not mad, Melody. I’m just disappointed.”

 

(Her father and mother would always called her Melody, never Mellie. She started calling herself that when her father left. She wasn’t Melody anymore, not ever.)

 

Out of all the things she wanted with Olivia, it was not for her to be a parent.

 

Mellie wanted to  _ talk _ , to actually sit down and discuss what was wrong and why Olivia was upset, and why she felt like a cheating wife telling her husband about her sexual escapade, when in reality this was a relationship she had when she was in college, and she was not married to Olivia. They weren’t even dating. This was not a Ross and Rachel, “we were on a break” situation, this was a Mellie and Olivia “we are best friends, why didn’t I know you were gay” situation. If they were anyone from Friends, they would be Monica and Rachel, if Rachel found out Monica was gay, and if Rachel had slept with Chandler when Monica was married to him, and it didn’t make sense why she was comparing the situation to a 90’s sitcom, but it helped her put things into perspective so she went with it.

 

The entire thing was frustrating to Mellie, which was why she decided to just go home after they wrapped up at OPA, instead of asking Liv if she could go home with her.

 

And, because of this, she had went home and wallowed in her own self misery.

 

Earlier that day, Mellie had called Teddy’s nanny (her name was Anne) and asked her to drop him off at the White House with Fitz. She had avoided being the one to do this ever since the nasty phone call they had, because she didn’t think she could look at Fitz without slapping him silly, and she didn’t necessarily want to do that in front of Teddy. So she had come home to an empty house. A large, echoing, empty house. Mellie and Olivia had made it customary for her to spend the night at Liv’s on the days when he was with his father. This worked out, because she spent the nights with Teddy when he was with her, and when he wasn’t, she didn’t have to be all by herself in her house.

 

(Of course, there had been nights when Olivia would spend the night at Mellie’s while Teddy was still here. Mellie had always thought Olivia would be standoffish with kids, but in reality she was great with them. Their favorite game was Hide and Go Seek, which was a lot of fun in such a big house. Olivia was amazing with Teddy, and Teddy adored her.)

 

Mellie hated being in her house alone for a long time. It normally ended up with her drowning herself in something, whether it be in work, in misery, or in hooch (and sometimes all three).

 

Tonight, it was both the misery and the hooch.

 

She had been laying on her bed, cradling a jar of hooch and feeling terrible about the events of the day for quite a while now. She was thinking about Olivia’s face when she saw the pictures for the first time when she heard a knock on the door. Mellie grabbed the jar of hooch on her nightstand and ran downstairs, half of her expecting it to be Olivia and the other half hoping that it was.

 

When she opened the door, however, it was not Olivia, but Quinn.

 

“Oh.” 

 

“Wow, all I get is ‘oh.’” Quinn laughed at an obviously drunk Mellie.

 

Mellie looked at Quinn apologetically, “Sorry, I was just—“

 

“Hoping for Olivia? I figured,” Quinn extended her hand towards the hooch, “Can I have some?”  

 

Mellie took another gulp before handing it to Quinn, “Come on in, this empty house is big enough for the two of us.”

 

Quinn shut the door behind her and gladly accepted the hooch, relishing the way it burned her throat.

 

“So, no offense, but why’re you here?” Mellie sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to her. “Though I’m glad you are, I’m lonely.”

 

Quinn passed the hooch to Mellie, “Well, I don’t really have a family, and Liv is in a bad mood because you guys are fighting, and Huck isn’t good with feelings, and I don’t know Marcus well enough, so I figured I’d come to you.”

 

“I’m honored, and here I am.” Mellie gestured to herself, “Drunk and therapeutic and lonely. So what’s wrong?”

 

(Mellie was secretly touched that Quinn came to her. Quinn had been so nice to Mellie right from the start, and she thought they’d really gotten close over the months.)

 

Quinn put her feet up on the coffee table in front of them, “Charlie and I are fighting,”

 

“Join the club, girlie.” Mellie laughed, but then saw that Quinn was genuinely upset, “Sorry. What’re you fighting about?”

 

“He wants to move in.”

 

Mellie slapped her knee, “Well, that’s normally a good thing.”

 

“Not for me. I don’t want that yet.”

 

Mellie leaned in close to Quinn, “Listen to me, Quinn. You tell that boy to back off. Give you your space.”

 

“Oh my god, Mel, you’re so drunk.” Quinn could already feel the hooch tingling inside of her (where did Mellie  _ get  _ this stuff?), but seeing Mellie so unlike her regular, sophisticated self was a booster in itself.

 

“I know.”

 

“Why aren’t you at Liv’s?” Quinn had thought that Mellie went to Olivia’s when Teddy was with Fitz, but apparently not. 

 

Mellie leaned back against the couch, “She hates me.”

 

“I’m, like, a 1000% sure that’s not true.” 

 

Mellie had never drank this much hooch in her life, “She didn’t until today. She’s very mad about Carol.” 

 

Quinn wondered if this was the time to ask Mellie about her feelings for Liv, and figured, ‘why not?’. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

 

“Yes! Let’s  _ talk _ , because apparently Olivia hates talking about what’s on her mind, even though that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re…”

 

Quinn smiled, “When you’re what?”

 

“I don’t know.” Mellie bit her lip, “I don’t  _ know _ , Quinn, but I wish she would talk to me. Just this morning everything was wonderful. I made her breakfast--”

  
  


“Liv never eats breakfast.”

  
  


“She did this morning. Every bite I put on her plate. And now she won’t even talk to me.” Mellie supposed she should be  _ mad  _ at Olivia for this, but all she felt was extremely upset. She also was a little smug that Olivia ate her breakfast this morning, especially now that Quinn had brought up that it was unusual. 

 

Quinn put a reassuring hand on Mellie’s shoulder. “I'm sure everything will be fine once Carol comes tomorrow.”

  
  


“And  _ Carol _ !” Mellie yelled, “My God, we haven't even spoken for twenty years, and all of a sudden this. This could stop me from being president, this could stop me from ever having a political career, Quinn.” She took yet another sip of hooch. 

  
  


Quinn looked at Mellie, looked at how miserable she was in her own house, how everything seemed to be crumbling down on top off her. Quinn had always thought of Mellie as some sort of...just, untouchable being. She'd seen so much of Mellie being strong that Mellie falling and having trouble getting up was hard to watch. And she wasn't equipped to deal with it, didn't have any idea  _ how  _ to deal with it. (That was Olivia’s job, everyone knew that was Olivia’s job.) Mellie was looking down at her jar of hooch, and she looked  _ terrible.  _ Quinn marveled at how upbeat Mellie was at the office, when she came home and this happened. Was this a normal thing? Was Mellie  _ this  _ broken, was her mask  _ that  _ good?

  
  


Mellie felt like she was choking, a lump building up in her throat, “That's not what's bothering me, though. The presidency. Carol.” 

  
  


Quinn watched Mellie smile that reserved smile, used with only one person, “Why don't you pull Liv aside tomorrow and talk to her then? I'm sure she's cooled down by now.”

  
  


“Yeah, I guess.” Mellie shrugged. 

  
  


“And,” Quinn took the jar of hooch out of Mellie’s hands, “why don't we stop the drinking for tonight.” 

  
  


Mellie nodded at her, letting Quinn take the drink with more ease than she had originally planned. “Kay.” 

  
  


“We should get you to bed.” Quinn stood up, not realizing how much hooch she drank until she stood up, legs wobbling beneath her and head swimming. 

  
  


Mellie laughed, “You sound like Liv.” 

  
  


“That's a good thing, I guess.” She held out her hand for Mellie to take. Mellie had mastered the art of walking while drunk in high heels, so she pushed Quinn away from her. However, when she started walking she wobbled dangerously, so Quinn wrapped her arm around Mellie’s shoulders and helped her up the stairs and into her bedroom. 

  
  


(The bedroom didn't look like Quinn thought it would. Mellie always wore brightly colored clothes, she made a statement with every single article of clothing she put on, so Quinn thought her bedroom would be the same. However, it was all cream and white, light tones and no color at all, really.)

  
  


Mellie collapsed onto her bed, still in her dress, and shook her feet so that her heels fell off onto the floor. “You can use the guest room, it's right down the hall.” 

  
  


As Quinn wandered down the hall, which was dotted with pictures of Teddy and Karen, she felt a stab of pity for Mellie. 

  
  


She never knew a house could be so lonely. 

  
  


**where opa is repeatedly faced with tense situations.**

  
  


The next morning, Mellie and Quinn drove to OPA together, the car ride being silent and very, very hung over. (Quinn had wondered what the hell was in that hooch, and where did Mellie get it because, God, was it strong.) They both wore their most shaded sunglasses, and Mellie had shared her extensive stock of Aspirin with Quinn. Mellie had offered to drive because she felt bad for spewing her emotional drama to Quinn, which she apologized for profusely. Quinn secretly enjoyed it, but she wasn't going to tell her that.

  
  


They were the first ones to arrive in the office, a normal occurrence to Quinn but something very different for Mellie. Olivia Pope & Associates was like a thriving power source, always buzzing, and this early in the morning it felt like a shell--or maybe it just seemed like a building, a normal building.

  
  


Quinn thought it enjoyable to turn on the power switch of OPA with the company of Mellie, because she normally made coffee and set up the computers and did other tedious chores herself (she didn’t exactly know how this had become her job, but here they were).

  
  


Mellie gladly accepted the coffee Quinn handed her, humming with approval as the bitter taste slid down her throat and calmed her aching head. “I can’t believe you take it black.” Quinn shook her head as Mellie gulped down a scalding amount of.

  
  


“Always have. My dad drank it black, so I developed a taste for it.” Mellie leaned back in her chair, listening to the coffee percolator brewing another pot, listening to Quinn shuffle around the table and review her notes, watching as the pictures of Carol and her flutter when Quinn ran by. She knew that she’d have to talk to Olivia today about everything, but it just wasn’t processing with her. Ever since they’d been fighting (it hadn’t even been a full day), Mellie realized how much she depended on the constant source of Olivia in her life.

  
  


She sat sulkily in her chair for a few minutes until she heard the telltale sound of the lift, and Mellie immediately sprung out of her chair. Quinn rounded the table and stood next to Mellie, both of them waiting to see who opened the door. She didn’t want to admit that if Olivia walked through that door, she might do something rash. Like hug her, maybe, which wasn’t  _ so _ rash but considering the fact that they were arguing, it might be a little out of the ordinary.

  
  


When the door opened, it was indeed Olivia that stepped out, confidence settling around like an actual aroma, but she was not alone. 

  
  


Jake Ballard accompanied her, his hand pressing on to the small of Olivia’s back and, additionally, on every single one of Mellie’s nerves. 

  
  


_ Jake?  _ Mellie couldn’t believe that Olivia had resorted to Jake, had had Jake over--because she obviously did, judging by that arrogant smirk on his face. Olivia had brought him to work, let him walk her in here with his hand on her back like she was  _ his _ , let him look at Mellie with such a cocky grin, stand with such a swagger, let him poison everything around him. God, Mellie abhorred him with such a passion that it was practically a thing itself, raging in her stomach and in her mind.

  
  


“Hi, Olivia,” She gave a sideways glance to the man beside her, “and Jake.”

  
  


Olivia and her were looking at each other with equal intensity (and pettiness, of course). Olivia seemed to want to battle, to go toe to toe, and by doing this she clutched Jake closer to her, seeming to squint at Mellie and cock her head (maybe Mellie was imagining this, but she felt like she was in high school all over again, showing up one another). 

  
  


“Hi, Mellie,” Quinn gave an equally petty sideways glance at the woman beside her, “and Quinn.”

  
  


Jake looked between them, wondering what the hell he just walked into. “Alright then,” he clapped his hands together, “I’m going to leave now.” 

  
  
  


“Good,” Mellie crossed her arms and smirked Jake’s cocky little grin right back at him, watching with chagrin when he leaned in to kiss Olivia. However, she ducked her head a little, making it so that he was only kissing the corner of her lips. Pettiness only went so far, it seemed.

  
  


Once Jake left, Olivia hid herself in her office, not coming out until both Huck and Marcus had arrived at OPA. 

  
  


At this point, Quinn ducked her head into Olivia’s office, (Mellie had decided not to talk to Olivia just yet--she was very put off by Jake’s appearance this morning), “Hey, we’re all here, so Huck wanted to know if he should go to see Carol.”

  
  


Olivia leaned back in her chair, putting her hands over her eyes, “Tell him to go ahead.”

  
  


“Um, Liv?” Quinn had almost exited the office, but remembering the way Mellie looked last night, all empty and tired and sad, she couldn’t help but backtrack and try to help her out. “Don’t you think you should talk to Mellie? I mean, I know it’s not really my business but I was over her house yesterday and she--”

  
  


Olivia held up her hand, telling her to stop talking, “You’re right, it’s not your business about whether Mellie and I are arguing or whether we’re not, and it’s not  _ my  _ business to know who Mellie is sleeping with, so stop trying to tell me about whatever you’re doing with her.” 

  
  


“Wait, no, we didn’t--” Quinn blanched.

  
  


“I told you I didn’t want to hear it. Now, please leave.” Olivia snapped, turning on her computer with no real reason other than to put on the facade that she was busy.Quinn went and sat next to Mellie at the conference table, shrugging her shoulders as if to say, ‘I tried.’

  
  


They had been expecting it to take a couple hours to coerce Carol into coming to talk to them, but were all surprised when they received the call from Huck that he’d be on his way twenty minutes after he left. Mellie didn’t want to bother herself with the fact that her ex girlfriend was coming in to see her for the first time since college, and that they hadn’t left things off on great terms, and that Carol was actually trying to blackmail her with pictures of them having sex. As much as she tried to not worry about these things, somehow they were quite bothersome. 

  
  


Olivia finally came out of her office, not looking at Mellie, Quinn, or Marcus, who were all definitely staring at her. She walked briskly to the head of the table, folding her hands in front of her. “When Carol arrives, we will all be cool, collected, and calm. Especially you, Mellie,” Olivia finally turned to look at Mellie, nodding her head, “You need to seem as though you couldn’t be bothered by them at all, that blackmail is just another day in the park and a woman like her isn’t going to change anything. Okay?” Mellie inwardly seethed, anger bubbling to the surface. How could Olivia be so damn cold?

  
  


“Fine.” Mellie practically spat.

  
  


Olivia’s jaw clenched, “Good.” She sat down on the edge of the table, “Huck should be here any minute.”

  
  


Almost as the planets aligned perfectly (which they normally did for Olivia Pope), the door opened to reveal Huck, and behind him, Carol.

  
  


Mellie told herself she wouldn’t react when she saw Carol, and she didn’t heeding Olivia’s words no matter how much they hurt her. She didn’t react at the sunken bags under Carol’s eyes, the hatred in them, the memories flooding through her as Carol drew those painful eyes upon her.

  
  


“Oh, Mel,” Carol smiled, “So great to see you. Even under the circumstances.” 

  
  


Mellie didn’t know whether or not to smile, so she just turned up the corners of her lips, “Even under the circumstances.” She repeated.

  
  


“I’m afraid Mellie’s wrong about that,” Olivia interrupted, “It’s not so great to see you, Carol. You might think that us calling you here means that your blackmail is something real, but it’s not. We’re simply taking care of it. This is a walk in the park for us.” Olivia didn’t think she would have liked Carol even if she wasn’t threatening Mellie. She was arrogant, she could tell just by the way she waltzed in here with her hands in her pockets, with the way she held her head up. Olivia  _ hated  _ her.

  
  


Carol chuckled a bit, “And here’s the infamous Olivia Pope, my ex’s new lover. So nice of you to ‘take care of’ me. I’m sure Mel appreciates it. I’m sure you’ll be awarded.” Carol winked at Mellie, “She always rewarded me.”

  
  


At this, both Mellie and Olivia stood up from their seats. “Excuse me, Carol, we didn’t call you here to talk about our relationship, we came here to offer you a deal, and have you go on your way.” Mellie addressed Carol before Olivia could rip into her (and she definitely was about to, much to Mellie’s liking).

  
  


“You always did want to get rid of me.” Carol seethed.

  
  


Mellie scoffed, “Oh, that was never it Carol, I think it was  _ you  _ who wanted to get rid of  _ me _ .”

  
  


“It’s always about you Mellie.”

  
  


“It was never about me!” She yelled, finally getting angry, “I was going to give up everything for you!”

  
  


Carol finally let her posture unravel, leaning forward menacingly, “But you didn’t, did you? You left.”

  
  


“I gave you a  _ choice _ , Carol. I gave you many chances to make that choice. Me or the drink. And you didn’t choose me. So that was the end.” Mellie took a deep breath, trying not to think about those long nights following their break up. Last night was like a whole other version of that. She felt Olivia’s eyes on her, could  _ feel  _ Olivia looking. 

  
  


Olivia stepped forward a little bit, “Alright, are we okay now?” Mellie broke eye contact with Carol, turning instead to finally meet Olivia’s eyes--they weren’t cold like before. They were finally letting some warmth, some feeling, into them. “Okay. Carol? You alright?”

  
  


“Whatever. So what’s your offer?” Mellie was taken aback at how fast Carol gave in, expecting more of a fight (with Carol, it was always a fight).

  
  


Olivia nodded, looking at Huck, who opened up a computer, “Well, we can offer you $200,000.”

  
  


Carol blanched at the money, thinking of how proud Edgar would be if she came home with $200,000. In terms of political blackmail, it wasn’t all that much, but she didn’t know that. “Deal.” Again, Mellie marveled at how fast this was going, watched as Carol advanced towards Olivia, watched as they shook hands, watched as Huck wired the money to a Cayman bank. 

  
  


Watched Olivia as she stood there, like a figure of sunlight and the sky all wrapped up in one, dark and bright and massive. 

  
  


**where apologies are exchanged profusely.**

  
  


Carol was escorted out of the building by Marcus, and as soon as she exited the door Mellie collapsed into her chair. She was clenching her fists to keep them from shaking, taking deep, shuddering breaths as the members of Olivia Pope & Associates tried to look away. Mellie was trying to be strong, she really was, but who she really needed in that moment was--

  
  


“Mellie, why don’t you come into my office,” Olivia bent down and whispered to her, taking a balled up fist and unclenching all the fingers, wrapping them around her own. Olivia pulled her out of the chair and led her into her office, relishing in the very missed feeling of Mellie’s hand in hers. Mellie was trying to calm her breathing, trying to calm herself down so she could focus on Olivia. 

  
  


Olivia, who was finally paying attention to her and being normal and holding her hand. Olivia, who shut the door behind them and sat them down on her couch and took Mellie’s heels off. Olivia, who lifted Mellie’s legs onto her own so that they were sitting comfortably close, and who had Mellie’s hand rested on her shoulder.

  
  


Olivia, who held Mellie so tight she wasn’t afraid she’d fall apart.

  
  


“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be overdramatic, I thought I’d be fine, but it’s so--” Mellie let go of a shaky breath, “I don’t even know. It’s just so  _ much _ .”

  
  


Olivia nodded her head, “I know. I haven’t been any help, either, and I’m sorry for that. I’ve been terrible today.”

  
  


“You’ve been pretty terrible,” Mellie had no shame in saying it, she was just glad they were talking. 

  
  


Olivia felt horrible, wanted to take the last day back, “I’m sorry about Jake.”

  
  


“I can’t believe you slept with him.”

  
  


“I didn’t, I asked him to take me to work.” Olivia told her, and she could almost feel the surprise rippling through Mellie.

  
  


“Oh,” she said, “I had thought…”

  
  


Olivia shook her head, “No.”

  
  


“Oh. Okay.” (The fact that Olivia had not slept with Jake was good for two reasons. One being that, well, Olivia had not slept with Jake, and the other being that she could safely sleep in Olivia’s bed tonight without feeling gross, which was what she planned on doing that night.)

  
  


Olivia bit her lip, “Look at me.” Mellie did, and for a moment Olivia couldn’t focus on anything else but Mellie’s face so close to her, her eyes wide, her mouth open. Olivia couldn’t help but stare for a moment, “I’m sorry. Truly, I am.”

  
  


Mellie nodded her head, “It’s okay.” She rested her head back on Olivia’s shoulder, deciding to wrap her arms around her waist and pull her closer, even if it that was impossible She filled her senses with Olivia, justifying it to herself by saying that she hadn’t had the chance to really  _ be  _ with Olivia for a day. This was a justification that helped her pull Olivia closer, to let herself revel in the feeling of being this close to her, of loving every second of it.

  
  


But justifications only went so far, and there were only so many justifications Mellie and Olivia could make.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the late update, I've had some extreme writers block. However, Thursday's episode got me back on track, because I am SO NOT HERE for Marcus and Mellie. I'm so against that, you don't even realize. Anyways, I hope this chapter makes up for such a long wait. Hope you enjoy!

**where they are close like never before.**

  
  


Olivia and Mellie were curled up on Olivia’s bed, their arms and legs entangled with one another’s and Mellie’s head resting on Olivia’s chest, arms wrapped around her waist. After a long, excruciating day of being so distant, they were reveling in this feeling of closeness. And close they were, stomachs pressed together, hands on waists, hair everywhere, and legs sliding together. It would have been weird, except it wasn’t. They felt comfortable, safe, in each other's arms.

  
  


(When they were cuddled up in Olivia’s office earlier, Mellie had asked if she could stay at her place that night. Olivia, of course, said yes, ecstatic that Mellie had forgiven her and that they would be able to enjoy each others company that night. 

 

Dinner had been at OPA, chinese take out, courtesy of Quinn. They all ate at the conference table, Mellie eating her egg rolls and everyone else especially avoiding those, but it was nice and was easy and it felt  _ good _ . It wasn’t unnoticed by Quinn that both Olivia and Mellie seemed particularly careful after Carol left, like the interactions between them had been like glass, easily broken but beautiful at the same time. After a while they loosened up and became their own selves again, touching each other’s arms and looking at one another while the other was not. Mellie and Olivia had been the first to leave, saying that they were tired when in reality they just wanted to get home.

 

As soon as they got to Liv’s apartment they got ready for bed, finally crawling into the massive duvet and immediately finding the other’s hands, sliding closer and closer together until they were completely in the other’s arms. They talked every once in awhile, something stupid about the campaign.)

 

The lights were turned off, and the two were silent, the only noise being the sound of steady breathing echoing throughout the quiet room. Mellie was just about to fall asleep when the phone on the nightstand beside her started ringing. “That’s me,” She said groggily, turning out of Olivia’s arms to grab her phone, not even bothering to look at who was calling.

 

“Hello?” She balanced herself on an elbow.

 

The sound of a baby crying blared through the other line, “Uh, hi, Mel--”

  
  


“Is that Teddy?” She interrupted the voice of Fitz once she realized that the baby crying was actually her son, breaking through her sleepiness. “Fitz, is he alright?” 

 

Olivia sat up then, wondering what was going on. Fitz answered, “Uh, yeah, he’s fine--”

 

“Then why is he crying? What did you do?”

 

“I didn’t do anything! It’s his bedtime and his nanny couldn’t get him to sleep, and he’s been calling for you--”

 

Mellie rubbed her head, “Give him the phone so I can talk to him.” There was a shuffling on the other side of the phone, and while Mellie was waiting for Fitz to give the phone to Teddy, she looked at Olivia, “Teddy’s throwing a fit, he wants to talk to me.” Olivia nodded with a tiny grin, laying back down. Mellie lay with her, the phone propped up on her ear as she resumed her position nestled into Olivia’s shoulders.

 

“Mommy?” Teddy sniffled.

 

Mellie smiled, “Hi, sweetie. Tell me what’s wrong.” It took a couple of minutes, but eventually Mellie calmed Teddy down, and Fitz’s voice was back on the phone.

 

“Thanks a lot, Mellie, he was being  _ terrible _ \--” Fitz was interrupted by the fakingly sweet tone of a very frustrated Mellie.

 

“Maybe he wouldn’t be so  _ terrible  _ if his father payed more attention to him instead of handing him over to his nanny on the limited days he even got to see him. Perhaps  _ that’s  _ why. Perhaps you should be more worried about why Teddy was being awful instead of the fact that he threw a little tantrum. Goodbye, Fitz.” She hung up on him, putting the phone back on the night stand with as much deliberation as possible. Mellie turned back to Olivia, deciding not to comment on her questioning stare. Instead, she just resumed their previous position, putting an arm around Olivia’s waist to distract herself. 

 

Olivia wondered why Mellie was being so scathing to Fitz, and why she was currently holding her extremely tight (almost as if to keep herself together), “Are you two fighting?” They were always fighting, they had been for a while, but it was rare when it actually bothered Mellie--and it was definitely bothering her now.

 

“Mhm.” Mellie nodded. She hadn’t told Olivia about the phone call they had the other day, the one where Fitz asked if his father turned her gay. She was still furious about that, could still feel that anger and disbelief sitting on her chest, but with the whole Carol fiasco and the fact that Olivia hadn’t spoken to her the past day, she hadn’t found the time to bring it up. And when Carol left the office, Mellie was too busy relishing not having to be angry at Liv to talk about the man that kept them apart for so long. 

 

(Mellie was mad at Fitz for many things. For so, so many things, such as him keeping her from the life she had actually wanted, only to drop her for Olivia, and to drop her again and again repeatedly after that. Her and Liv had gotten over that this past year, finding solace in each other rather than being angry. Among many things, Mellie was  _ infuriated  _ that she had kept herself from Olivia this long. Imagine how happy she would be if she just let herself let things  _ go _ .)

 

Olivia noticed the vagueness in Mellie’s response. “Can I have some elaboration?”

 

“Sure,” Mellie’s voice halted, and Olivia found her hand and linked their fingers together, trying to ease Mellie’s nerves (Mellie wasn’t ashamed to say it worked), “he called me the other day, drunk and upset about us ‘dating.’” She laughed, “He didn’t believe me when I said we weren’t, he said that I ruined our marriage and this was why. Among other things.” She fell silent then, staring at the dark walls in front of her and feeling the strength of Olivia’s body wrapped around hers, feeling her **.** Her conversation with Fitz didn’t matter all that much at the moment. Olivia’s arms around her added white paint to her heart’s mixture of dark, choleric red, dulling her anger and making everything around her lighter, softer. 

 

Olivia debated on whether she should ask for more information, but Mellie continued on her own, “He asked if his father ‘turned me’ gay,” she said hollowly.

 

Olivia felt the words as an almost physical blow. “Wow. I mean,  _ wow _ . That’s terrible” Olivia shook her head as if to process what Fitz had actually told Mellie.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Olivia looked down at Mellie. At this angle she could only see the side profile of her face, but Mellie was pointedly not looking at her, staring at the walls across her. “Are you okay?” Sometimes it was easy to forget that Mellie was an actual  _ person,  _ not just some machine who ran around in colorful dresses with a sense of outstanding confidence. She wasn’t always so confident, and it was at times like this, curled up close to her and feeling her heartbeat, the swell of her skin and the raised freckles on her collarbone, that Olivia realized how completely real Mellie was.

 

“I’m fine.” Mellie looked up at Olivia, feeling her eyes on her. It wasn’t until she did this that she realized how close they actually were. Here Olivia was, right in front of her, jaw tapering into cheekbone and nose into eyes. “You look pretty.” She didn’t know why she said it, but it was true.

 

Olivia smiled, “Even at that angle.”

 

“Even at that angle,” Mellie mirrored her grin, a real, genuine smile after so many years of faking one, falling back into the crook of her neck and snuggling closer. “At every angle.” She mumbled under her breath.

 

(Mellie had mastered the art of the Fake Smile over these past twenty years. She had been fake smiling for the benefit of Fitz since their first date all those years ago, surrounded by both of their fathers, who looked at them like they were a pair of breeding horses, ready to mate. Of course, Fitz was charming, always charming, so some of the smiles were genuine. But her father would look at her laughing with Fitz with a smug grin, and her fake smile would reemerge again--she did not appreciate being pushed into a corner, not then and not now, not ever. 

 

Fake smiles had been more frequent than genuine ones with Fitz. Her lips were always raised, her cheeks always aching, her heart always faltering. 

 

But Olivia kept her smiling, genuinely and constantly. She smiled whenever Olivia would come up behind her and hug her waist, standing up on her tiptoes to rest her chin on Mellie’s shoulders. She smiled when Olivia showed up on her doorstep with a pizza and wine, a tiny, hopeful smiling, saying “Can I come in? Or is there someone else who’s already bought you dinner?” She smiled whenever she realized Liv was staring at her from across the room, her chin propped up on her hand, and she’d give her a little wave. She smiled when she walked into Teddy’s room and saw Olivia playing with him, crawling across the floor as Teddy giggled his head off. She smiled up at Olivia when she realized she was standing in the doorway, looking at her while Mellie was reading. Olivia kept her smiling all the time, just a constant grin spread across her face. 

 

Just as she was smiling now, cuddled up in Olivia’s bed and loving every second of it.)

 

“You know what I find hilarious?” Olivia picked up a lock of Mellie’s hair, twisting it around her finger absentmindedly. 

 

Mellie reached her hand up to stop Liv from pulling her hair, “What?”

 

“That America thinks we’re dating, and we really look like we are. I mean, look at us!” Olivia laughed, and Mellie could feel the laughter bubbling up in chest. “We’re spooning!”

 

“We just  _ love  _ the drama.” Mellie chuckled.

 

Olivia laughed, reaching back down to grab Mellie’s hair again. (Olivia enjoyed playing with Mellie’s hair, it was one of her favorite pastimes. She was always picking it up and twirling it around her finger, twisting it into braids, combing through it with thin fingers. How could she not?). Words were at the tip of her tongue, something along the lines of  _ ‘It’s not the drama that I love.’  _

 

Instead, she just laughed.

 

“I’m cold,” Mellie grumbled, grabbing a fistful of blankets and wrenching them closer to her.

 

“Well, we can’t have that, can we, your majesty?” Olivia teased.

 

Mellie looked up at her with a little eye roll, “Shut up.” Olivia and her pestered each other for a bit, battling over the blankets (like a stereotypical couple, Olivia couldn't help but think) until Olivia finally gave up. 

  
  


Their little squabble only ended up putting them closer together, and it wasn't until Mellie’s racing mind calmed down and she rested her head on Olivia’s chest that she realizes how tired she was. They fell silent, focusing on the other’s breath and the movement of the shadows racing across the wall. Mellie enjoyed this, this peacefulness and quiet and  _ joy  _ that came with Olivia. 

  
  


As she drifted off to sleep, mumbling a little “goodnight” to Olivia, she thought that perhaps she liked it a little too much. 

  
  


**where things are really great for both of them.**

  
  


Olivia woke up to the sound of a high, beautiful voice peeling through her house, along with the smell of pancakes (God, Mellie and her pancakes). She immediately knew it was Mellie, due to the fact that there was an aching absence of her in her arms, and Mellie’s voice was incomparable, mistaken for no one. 

  
  


(Olivia closed her eyes and tried to remember the few times she woke up last night, whether it be because of Mellie’s tossing and turning or her usual restless sleep. That was another thing thing that had in common--they were both plagued by restless nights and uncomfortable sleep. Somehow, though, Mellie calmed her down. She knew that if she moved, she’s disturb Mellie, so she stayed still, listened to the lull of Mellie’s soft breathing and heartbeat. Olivia didn't know if it helped Mellie, but it certain helped  _ her.  _

  
  


When she did wake up, though, it was to Mellie in her arms, the sweet scent of Mellie’s perfume and shampoo permeating the room, the weight of Mellie’s head on her chest, the feeling of their bodies pressed close. She went to pick up a lock of Mellie’s hair and accidentally brushed her cheek, waking up Mellie, the ever light sleeper. They mumbled tired and bleary hello’s, and Olivia pretended she didn't see Mellie’s smile.)

  
  


Olivia didn’t really eat breakfast--and come to think of it, neither did Mellie--but a couple days ago Mellie had woken up before her like today and made them breakfast, and Olivia sat through every bite and ate it with fervor. She intended to do the same thing when she swung her legs out of bed and pulled a sweater on over her shirt. 

  
  


While she was walking to the kitchen, Olivia paused to listen to Mellie singing, her voice rising above her sleepiness and the sounds of traffic outside. Olivia had always enjoyed listening to Mellie sing, knowing that it would only happen once Mellie was really comfortable with a situation, or if she was feeling extra happy that day. Whenever she sang around Olivia, Olivia took it as Mellie being happy around her, and until lately, a happy Mellie was a rare sight. Whenever Olivia heard Mellie singing, it always put a smile on her face, whether it was when they were working and Mellie was singing under her breath, or times like right then, Mellie singing at the top of her lungs, belting out the lyrics to “Beam Me Up” by Pink. 

  
  


Olivia walked into the kitchen to find Mellie at the stove, wearing a hoodie and shorts and flipping pancakes. Before she made her presence known, she took a deep breath and wondered what the Hell they were doing. Why did they sleep together like that last night, all curled up on each other and doing nothing but talking and sleeping and  _ being _ ? Why did Mellie wake up before her and start making breakfast, her hair tied up in a bun and looking positively endearing, and why did Olivia plan on eating everything with a smile on her face even if she wasn’t hungry, just to make Mellie feel better? Why was this all  _ happening _ ?

  
  


Mellie turned around and saw Olivia standing in the doorway, “Morning, Liv!” She gestured to the stove, “I’m making pancakes.”

  
  


“I see.” 

  
  


When Mellie sat Olivia down (literally putting her hands on her shoulders and sitting her in her seat) and gave her pancakes, bacon, and a cup of coffee, Olivia didn’t even complain. She stared at Mellie’s hopeful smile, the messy strands of hair framing her face, and ate every single bite.

  
  


**where marcus does something out of the ordinary.**

  
  


Quinn couldn’t count the amount of times that Olivia and Mellie walked into OPA together, all smiles and blushes and laughing, but today was one of those days. 

  
  
  


Mellie was clutching her stomach in laughter as Olivia swung the door open, “Liv, stop!” She gasped between breaths, causing Olivia to throw her back, laughing.

  
  


“Mellie Grant, our viewers are wondering, or more like  _ I’m  _ wondering, but I’m Sally Langston so I can do whatever I want.” Olivia put her hand on her hip and faked Sally Langston’s voice, trying to compose her giggling while Mellie lost it again.

  
  


“That’s enough, Sally.” Mellie finally calmed down, looking up at the three OPA members sitting at the conference table and staring at her as if she had three days.

  
  


Huck made the closest thing to a smile, “That’s the wildest I’ve ever seen you, Mellie.” 

  
  


“She’s  _ very  _ wild,” Olivia winked, causing Mellie to slap her in the shoulder.

  
  


Mellie looked at Huck, “I’ve never seen anyone do an impression as spot on as Liv’s, how could I  _ not _ laugh?” 

  
  


Once the two of them had settled down, Olivia excused herself, patting Mellie on the shoulder and disappearing into her office. Mellie sat down at the conference table and pulled her laptop out of her bag, acting as though she hadn’t just walked into the office with Liv acting as an actual couple. She was in a particularly good mood, probably due to the fact that she had slept better than she had in awhile (or maybe it was because of Liv, but she wouldn’t admit that to herself).

  
  


Realizing that Mellie wasn’t going to say anything, everyone settled into the normal flow of the office, Huck and Quinn working on the computers, Marcus filling out paperwork, Olivia coming out of the office every once in awhile to talk to everybody--mostly to Mellie. These were Mellie’s favorite types of days. Being in the White House was like a constant strain, she always thought things were going to explode between her and Fitz. And, mostly, things did explode, leading to nasty words and fights and emotional breakdowns that made her feel empty and horrible. At OPA, however, things were easy going and  _ nice _ , and she didn’t constantly feel like she was going to mentally implode, which was a plus. 

  
  


Around midday, she offered to go pick up Gettysburger, writing down everyone’s orders and giving Liv a hug before she left. While she was walking towards the lift, Marcus burst through the door behind her and ran up to her side, “Hey, Mellie, I thought you’d like someone to go with you.”

  
  


“Oh, thanks, Marcus.” She smiled at him, walking to the lift and shutting the doors behind him. 

  
  


Mellie turned to him, “So--” she stopped when she saw the look on Marcus’ face, “Marcus?”

  
  


He walked a bit closer to her, “So you’re really not dating Liv?” He crossed his arms at her, looking as though he knew something she didn’t. Her mind flashed to the sight of her and Olivia cuddling all night, Olivia playing with her hair and sliding their legs up against each others. 

  
  


“No, we’re just friends,” She stared at the elevator doors, hoping for them to open soon.

  
  


Marcus stared at her, “So it’s completely platonic?”

  
  


“Completely platonic.” Why wouldn’t the damn doors open already? Once they did (which seemed like ages when Marcus was staring holes through her head), Mellie strode out of the lift and out of the office. 

  
  


She didn’t know why she felt so awkward, but the car ride was extremely silent, even with the music on. Marcus didn’t bother with conversation, so she stayed quiet, cursing any and all traffic they ran into. This trend of silence stuck throughout the entire trip, though Marcus did offer to carry a Gettsyburger bag. Why did he even come with her if all he was going to do was ask her about Olivia? She felt like he  _ knew  _ something, like he could tell what she was thinking.

  
  


Marcus finally broke the silence in the car ride home, but it was not with something she’d like to talk about, “So you haven’t been with anyone since Fitz?”

  
  


She tried not to glare, “It really hasn’t been a long time since we got divorced.”

  
  


“But you’re not giving up on love, right? You’re still looking?” He probed.

  
  


Mellie screwed up her face, “I’m not  _ giving up  _ on love, god. Let’s not talk about this.” She didn’t really know why it was bothering her that Marcus was asking her about this, they had always been pretty close. It was that Mellie really didn’t know what her romantic future was. She couldn’t imagine herself with anyone, couldn’t really picture a scenario that involved some random person at her inauguration speech (because she  _ would  _ win the presidency), couldn’t think of anyone striding into the Oval to give her a kiss and tell her she’s doing great. If anything, lately she’d been wondering what it would be like to not spend her days in Olivia Pope & Associates, seeing Quinn and Huck and Marcus...and Liv. Not seeing Olivia every day would be Hell. She’d never get to spend her nights at Olivia’s, curled up and feeling safe and wonderful. She wouldn’t be able to eat take out with OPA and drink bottles of wine with Olivia, her head rested on Liv’s shoulder and listening to old records. Where would everyone be if ( _ when _ ) she became President? 

  
  


(The other night she had a dream, more like a nightmare, really, where she became President. But the scary part was that, when she replaced Fitz, Fitz replaced  _ her _ . He was the one at OPA, joking around with everybody and tentatively helping out with cases. He was the one--and she couldn’t help but feel queasy about this--curled up with Olivia every night, making her breakfast and getting hugs and dancing with her at 3AM.  _ He  _ was the one that made Olivia smile, and Mellie was just a blip in Olivia’s mind. Fitz wasn’t good for Liv. He wasn’t good for at all.)

  
  


Mellie was lost in thought when she pulled into OPA, feeling strangely upset.

  
  


While in the lift, Marcus broke through her reverie, “You know, Mel, you shouldn’t be single. You’re too pretty.” 

  
  


She rolled her eyes at him, “Thanks, Marcus. I guess.” She wasn’t paying attention to him all that much, still caught up in the idea of Fitz and Olivia getting back together. 

  
  


However, that thought was pushed out of her mind when Marcus spun her towards him.

  
  


“You should be with someone, Mellie.” He put his arms around her waist, staring directly into her eyes. Before she even knew what was happening, he was pushing her up against the elevator wall and kissing her, rough and hard and pushing her close to him and god, this couldn’t be happening. 

  
  


Mellie was too shocked to react for a second, but when she felt--simultaneously--his tongue in her mouth and one of his hands grab her boob (oh my  _ god _ ), she pushed him away from her. “Marcus, no.” 

  
  


Marcus stood across from her, still uncomfortably close, and he put his hand on her cheek. “You said you weren’t with Liv.” He placed his other hand on her waist. She was trying to keep her emotions in check, trying to not let what she was thinking show on her face. He leaned in closer, kissing the edge of her jaw.

  
  


Mellie jerked her head away from his lips, overlapping his hands and taking them off of her, “It’s not Liv. It’s me. I don’t think of you like that.” When he didn’t move away, she made her voice hard, “Marcus, get  _ off _ of me.”

  
  


He didn’t move away at first, and she could feel a bit of fear coursing through her veins. After a minute, though, he stepped away, picking up the Gettysburger bags he dropped and staring straight ahead. Mellie didn’t really know what to do in the moment, but she fixed her sweater (which had been pushed aside, off her shoulder) and clasped her hands in front of her. Marcus just kissed her. What the  _ fuck _ ? She was also caught up on the fact that he thought she wasn’t kissing him back because of Olivia. Mellie wasn’t sure what to do about that.

  
  


When the lift doors opened, she wasn’t sure which of them was more relieved. 

  
  


**when olivia is told an interesting piece of information.**

  
  


Olivia noticed (how could she not?) how extremely comfortable Mellie looked, and how extremely angry Marcus looked, when they came back with the Gettysburger. Olivia wanted to get Mellie alone so she could ask what was happening, because Mellie’s face was enough to make her worried--and, plus, they had already shared one meal together today, why not two? 

 

Mellie brought their Gettysburger into Olivia’s office and they sat down on the couch together. Mellie ate quietly, not even commenting on how delicious her Freedom Fries were, which was another box checked in Olivia’s mind. Something was definitely wrong.

 

“Did something happen?” She asked tentatively, setting down her soda. 

 

Mellie mirrored her and looked at Olivia. Olivia could almost see the indecision in her eyes, and she was getting more and more worried by the second. “Mellie?”

 

“Marcus kissed me.” Mellie blurted, trying to gauge what Olivia was thinking.

 

Olivia just stared back at her for a moment, “Oh.”

  
  


“Oh?” Mellie was feeling an intense bout of deja vu, thinking of Olivia’s reaction when she found out about Carol. Except this wasn’t anything like Carol. 

  
  


Olivia nodded, “Oh.” She couldn’t really compute what she was thinking at the moment. 

  
  


“I didn’t kiss him back. I pushed him away.” Mellie didn’t really know why she was explaining herself.

  
  


Olivia’s insides were burning. Marcus had kissed Mellie, and Mellie obviously didn’t like it, didn’t want it. Olivia wanted to run out of her office and punch Marcus right in his stupid face, and why? He just  _ kissed  _ her, and that was it, it was ended right then. And Mellie was an adult, she could take of herself, and it certainly wasn’t Olivia’s place to be angry--she wasn’t angry at Mellie, of course. In fact, she was oddly pleased that Mellie didn’t want him. What was making her angry was Mellie and Marcus’ faces when they came out of the lift. Mellie looked so uncomfortable, and Marcus was so  _ angry _ . He had no right to be angry! 

  
  


“Don’t fire Marcus or anything. He didn’t do anything wrong.” Mellie grabbed Olivia’s hand, “He was civil.” She decided not to tell Olivia the whole story, such as the fact that her boob was still sore because either Marcus had no idea how to pleasantly grab someone, or he was being uncharacteristically rough. Or that she had to push him away twice, or that she was slammed against a wall and it made her feel trapped and completely exposed at the same time, or that she felt shaken up, even though Marcus didn’t really do anything wrong. Olivia already looked angry enough, Mellie could see it on her face.

  
  


Olivia looked at her, “Are you okay?” 

  
  


“I’m fine, Liv.” Mellie pursed her lips at Olivia’s insistent gaze, “I...I don’t know. I’m fine, just shaken up a bit.”

  
  


Olivia stood up abruptly, “Do you need me to talk to him?” She was still grasping Mellie’s hand, so Mellie stood up next to her.

  
  


“Olivia, calm down. I”m fine.”

  
  


“You said you were shaken up.” She clearly didn’t believe her.

  
  


Mellie grabbed Olivia’s other hand, “He’ll probably piss his pants at the sight of you. He thinks we’re together.” 

  
  


The words hit Olivia with a force of a truck.

  
  


Mellie was looking at her so intensely, and they were so close, and Olivia was  _ infuriated  _ that Marcus would have the  _ audacity  _ to even  _ touch  _ Mellie, and why? Mellie was not her girlfriend. They weren’t dating. Sure, they sleep together (literally, of course) and wake up together and eat breakfast together, and sometimes the thought of Mellie sitting by herself in her huge, empty house while her kids were away made her feel so upset that she would drive all the way across town for her. And sure, they were best friends and Olivia could not ever compare the feeling of being with Mellie, and she was happiest with Mellie, but they were not dating.

  
  


_ But  _ neither was Marcus. So he could  _ back off  _ of Mellie.

  
  


“If he even does so much as to look at you the wrong way, please tell me, and I’ll kick him right out.” Olivia clutched Mellie’s hands to her chest. “Is there anything you’d like me to do right now, because I’ll do anything you want.” Olivia realized she was being theatrical and overdramatic, but she didn’t regret it because she was going to be here for Mellie, and she didn’t care if that meant theatrics. 

 

Mellie smiled, “I could use a hug.” 

  
  


Olivia didn’t miss a beat, pulling Mellie into a tight embrace, one of her hands on the small of her back and the other twisting Mellie’s hair around her fingers. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

 

“Mhm.” Mellie nodded. She was okay now, being held by Olivia, feeling safe in someone’s arms. She felt protected. 

 

And Olivia. Well, Olivia felt like she was never,  _ ever _ going to let Mellie go, whether it meant she was moving into the White House or not.

 

**where olivia goes to quinn.**

  
  


Quinn wasn’t expecting company, so when she hear a frantic knock on the door her mind immediately jumped to the worst. 

 

While she made her way to the door, the person on the other side knocked again, this time faster. Quinn ran up to the door, expecting some dude with a gun when she looked through the peep hole. Instead, however, it was Olivia, donning an extremely frightened expression (a combination of worried and upset and something else Quinn couldn’t quite pinpoint).

 

Quinn opened the door, “Liv? Are you alright?” Olivia was wringing her hands together, looking at Quinn with such naked surprise.

 

“I think I’m in love with Mellie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excited? ;)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I posted yesterday, but I've been a writing machine so here you go. A HUGE THANKS to Emma, who is giving me more inspiration chapter by chapter. She led me to this post that was the wine thing in the last section, so that's not my idea. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, I really hope you're enjoying it so far.

**where quinn is yet again super awesome.**

  
  


_ “I think I’m in love with Mellie.”  _

 

It was the first time Olivia had said it out loud, the first time she had even admitted it to herself. Mellie had Teddy that night, so Olivia was left to to her own thoughts, or more accurately, left to think about Mellie. 

 

She was thinking about Marcus still, how he had kissed her and Mellie pushed him away and both of their faces when they walked into OPA. She was thinking of how she felt hugging Mellie after she told Olivia, how absolutely infuriated she was, how absolutely infuriated she  _ still  _ was. Olivia still wanted to punch him in the face for kissing Mellie. She was going to visit Mellie and Teddy, but on the ride there she had realized  _ why  _ she was so damn angry about Marcus.

 

He had kissed her. And Olivia hadn’t.

 

At that point, she made a U-turn and headed straight for Quinn’s. On the way there, it was as if everything was coming to light all at once, an entire world at her fingertips, a world of her and Mellie and god damn wonderful they were. How the country thought they were dating, and really, why weren’t they? Why hadn’t Olivia kissed Mellie every moment she got? She had an infinite amount of time to do it, like when they were in bed almost every night together, or maybe when they hugged for an absurd amount of time. 

 

Quinn stared at Olivia, trying to cover her smile (and failed), “Well, I could have told you that.”

 

“Quinn.”

 

“Alright, come on in.” Quinn opened the door wider and let Olivia through. Once she closed it, she turned to look at Olivia, “Liv, are you alright?”

 

Olivia took her coat off and looked around Quinn’s apartment, “This place is filthy.”

 

Quinn shook her head, “That’s not what’s important at the moment.” Olivia sat down on the couch (moving a pile of books aside) and put her head in her hands.

 

“What do you mean, you could have told me that?” Olivia picked her head up.

 

Quinn sat down next to her, a little perplexed on how to tell Olivia everything she wanted to say. For one, it was unlike Olivia to show up at her doorstep at--she checked the time--one in the morning, let alone to confess her love for her best friend. “Well, Liv, it’s kind of obvious.”

 

Olivia’s eyes widened, “Well, it wasn’t obvious to me!”

 

“I know, but it’s obvious to literally everyone else,” At Olivia’s surprised expression, Quinn continued, “Olivia, Sally Langston, the most homophobic person to ever exist, accused you and Mellie to be in a relationship. The entire country thinks you’re in love. It’s  _ pretty  _ damn obvious.”

 

Olivia stared at her hands, thinking of Mellie’s smile and her laugh and the image of her cooking pancakes for her like a married couple, “She’s just...I don’t know, Quinn. My mind’s all,” Olivia waved her hands around her head, “jumbled.”

 

“Well, why don’t you tell me whatever’s going through your head so we can sort it all out.” Quinn offered. She was extremely happy with this development in Olivia and Mellie’s relationship. Part of her thought they were never going to admit their love for each other, like, ever, but if Olivia took the initiative then she was almost positive Mellie would reciprocate. “What brought this all on?”

 

Olivia took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her fists. Even now, she wanted Mellie here next to her. She knew that if Mellie were here, she would instinctively pull Olivia in for a hug, and she’d smile that ‘Olivia I know you’re a very emotional person but you need to calm down’ smile, and she’d probably hold her hand, and  _ why  _ had Olivia never realized that she had feelings for Mellie? “This stays between us.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Olivia nodded, “Marcus kissed Mellie.” 

 

“Oh.” Quinn was completely surprised at this. Marcus was always the one that agreed with her about Mellie and Olivia, he would never make a move on Mellie. Quinn didn’t even know that he  _ wanted  _ to make a move. “That’s...insane. Is that why they both looked so weird when they came back today?”

 

“Yes!” Olivia stood up abruptly and waved her hands around, “He kissed her in the lift, and Mellie was extremely uncomfortable, and it made me want to just bash his stupid little head in, because how  _ dare  _ he do that to her? He is not allowed to even  _ touch _ her, and Quinn, I swear to god if I see him even look at her crossly, I’m going to lose it.”

 

“Woah, calm down, Liv. He tried to kiss her. It’s not so bad.” Olivia looked absolutely livid, her cheeks burning red.

 

Olivia shook her head, “Oh, no, he didn’t just kiss her, I know he didn’t. Mellie didn’t give me all the details but there is no way he just  _ kissed  _ her. She was upset when she came back, and--” She took a deep breath, sitting back down. “I’m being crazy.”

 

“A little bit.”

 

“I just...I was sitting at home and I was thinking about Marcus,” She swallowed thickly, “ _ touching  _ her, and I realized that  _ I  _ should be the one touching her. I should be the one kissing her. I want to kiss her. I want to be with her, just, all the time.” Olivia looked at Quinn, waiting for her to say something.

 

Quinn rested her hands on her knees, leaning forward, “So what do you like about her? Let’s talk about it,” She wanted Olivia to keep realizing things until she was brave enough to actually  _ do  _ something about it, wanted Olivia to feel so strongly that she wouldn’t freak out but just dive in head first.

 

“Oh, god, what do I like about her?” Olivia laughed to herself, “Everything, really. She’s strong, incredibly so. She’s a great mother, a great politician, a great everything. Mellie  _ is  _ everything.”

 

When Olivia looked up, Quinn was smiling at her, “Keep going.”

 

Olivia leaned back and rested her head on the top of the couch, “She cares about me, and makes me breakfast. She stops and asks me if I’m okay even if she’s not doing so well herself.”

  
  


“And…?” Quinn egged her on.

  
  


Olivia smiled, “When I’m with her I’m happy.”

  
  


“Keep going.” Quinn watched as Olivia’s features shined with a light while talking about Mellie, and it was so rom com she couldn’t help but smile.

  
  


“And I love her.” Before Quinn could say anything, however, she frowned, “But it could never work.”

  
  


Quinn was taken aback by this sudden change in mood, “What? Why not?”

 

“Quinn, use your brain,” She laughed hollowly, “Mellie’s going to be the next president of the United States. I am her ex husband’s former mistress. We hated each other for so long. She’ll never be elected if we’re together. I could go on.” 

 

Quinn shook her head at Olivia, “There’s always excuses not to do something.”

 

“Or there’s always valid reasons to not do something.” Olivia could feel herself start to crumble. She’d been so excited on this sudden revelation that she hadn’t even thought about the fact that it could never work. Oh, god, and now she’d dug herself into a hole, because she was going to have to face Mellie after tonight, and Mellie would be her normal self (which is, to say, very touchy-feely), and Olivia could already feel her resolve fading. 

 

She stood up, “I’m going to leave.” 

 

Quinn realized there was nothing she could really say in the moment, so she let Olivia put her coat back on and leave the house with only a feeble goodbye. 

 

She knew that some way, somehow, Olivia and Mellie would be together. Nothing would ever convince her otherwise.

  
  


**where marcus gets what's coming to him.**

  
  


When Olivia walked into Olivia Pope & Associates, she still lacked a plan of action when it came to Mellie. She knew she couldn’t do anything about her feelings, no matter how strong they were becoming, no matter how much she ached to just pick up the phone and call Mellie, just to hear her voice. 

 

(Last night was Hell, to put it simply. Olivia sat in her bed for a while, drinking an obscene amount of wine and breaking down her predicament piece by piece until she was assured that she was completely, all consumingly in love with Mellie Grant, and also equally assured that there was no way she could make it work. 

 

This did not stop her from thinking about every single interaction she’d ever had with Mellie to try to figure out if Mellie felt the same way. Olivia knew it didn’t matter whether or not she did, but her drunken mind wanted to know.)

 

However, she did have a plan of action for her dear, dear friend Marcus. That plan was not to fire him, but to be so incredibly vile that he might just quit himself. This plan was thrown out of the window almost as soon as she saw his face. 

 

“Hey, Liv.” Marcus smiled at her.

 

She mustered the most menacing face she could think of, “You  _ bastard _ .”

 

“Um,” He looked at Quinn, the only other person in the room. She looked equal parts surprised and satisfied, “Excuse me?”

  
  
  


Olivia jabbed a finger into his chest, “You listen to me, Marcus. You are new here, and you  _ will not  _ overstep your boundaries. You are on very thin ice right now, so I suggest you tread  _ extremely  _ carefully, and if I have to I  _ will-- _ ”

 

“I’m here!” The sound of Mellie’s voice stepping into OPA caused everyone to turn around and stare at her. Mellie noted the atmosphere, noted Olivia’s finger on Marcus’ chest, the livid look in her eyes, and stopped in her tracks, “What’s going on?”

 

This was the first time Olivia saw Mellie since she her realization, and she dropped her hand from Marcus’ chest and stared at the woman before her, dressed in a tight black dress, her makeup impeccable. God, was she beautiful, and while she was watching Mellie smile at her, and the way her presence just exuded a beauty, Olivia was trying really hard to remember why she couldn’t march up to Mellie right now and kiss her senseless.

 

“Earth to Liv?” Mellie walked towards her and put an arm around Olivia’s waist, her touch like actual fire, “What’s going on?”

 

How did Olivia ever focus with Mellie around? And how did she never realize how deep she was? (And how did she never notice just how  _ freaking  _ blue Mellie’s eyes were?)

 

Marcus stood up from his seat, obviously scared at what just happened. He looked at Mellie, who was pointedly  _ not  _ looking at him. “Mellie, can we talk?” He thought he was being discreet, but little did he know that everyone in the room knew he kissed Mellie. 

 

Olivia sprung into action, “Marcus, did you not  _ hear me,  _ or is your hearing blocked by your--”

 

“Olivia.” Mellie and Quinn stopped her, except Mellie grabbed her hand and tore her away from Marcus. Olivia’s chest was heaving, and she didn’t know which feeling was stronger, the anger coursing through her or Mellie’s hand on hers. 

  
  


Mellie rubbed a small circle on Olivia’s hand, nodding towards Marcus, “Sure, Marcus, can we talk in Liv’s office?” Mellie did this in the hopes that everyone would watch them talking through the big windows, and that if he tried anything Olivia could come in and pry Marcus off of her. (She was pretty sure he  _ wouldn’t  _ try anything, because he was still Marcus. He was a nice guy, and she knew that.)

  
  


Apparently, Marcus was thinking the same thing, “I was thinking somewhere more private.”

She was going to say yes, of course, let’s go, but then she remembered the feeling of being pressed up against the wall of the elevator, his thigh between her legs, his hand groping at her, his hot tongue and dark eyes, and she shook her head, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. 

  
  


He nodded, defeated, and walked into Olivia’s office. Before Mellie went to follow him, she turned to Olivia, “Good morning by the way,” 

  
  


Olivia smiled up at her, pulling her into a quick hug. Maybe she could suppress her feelings and just enjoy the feeling of Mellie’s arms around her. Maybe (probably not). “Good morning.” Mellie pulled away, nodded to Quinn, and walked into Olivia’s office. She shut the door behind her.

  
  


Marcus was a safe distance away, but he took a small step closer. Mellie took a step backward. “Listen, Mel, I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

  
  


Mellie let out a relieved sigh, “Me neither. I really hope that we--”

  
  


“Can I kiss you one last time?” He reached out toward her, and she backed up more.

  
  


“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Marcus.” Mellie ignored the bile rising up in her throat at the sight of him, trying real damn hard not to overreact. Marcus was doing nothing wrong. 

  
  


He stepped a little bit closer, and she stepped even farther back. “Just give me a chance,” He took a bold step forward and grabbed her hand. “Do you want to go out for drinks some time?”

  
  


Mellie tried to look away, but she was afraid that if she moved the world would shatter, “I’m pretty sure I made it clear that I don’t want to do that.”

  
  


“Okay,” Marcus nodded, but he didn’t let go of Mellie’s hand, “Hug it out?”

  
  


She’d let him have that. Mellie nodded her head a bit, and let Marcus wrap his arms around her. At the sight of a flicker outside of the window--probably Olivia--Mellie brought her arms up around him, trying to set aside her discomfort. He really was being civil, she just needed to calm down.

  
  


(As much as Olivia’s night was Hell, Mellie’s night was too, but for a much different reason. She was strong in front of Teddy, playing with him and making him dinner and finally putting him to bed. But as soon as she closed his bedroom door, she made her way to her own room and collapsed, deep breaths and heaving chest and trying really hard not to break down. 

  
  


Mellie could not forget the feeling of Marcus on top of her, could not push down the memories it dredged up, could not shake off the ghost hands brushing against her body. She wanted Liv to be there for her. She needed Liv, and Olivia wasn’t there, and tears were sliding down her face no matter how much she tried to stop them.

  
  


She didn’t get much sleep that night.)

  
  


Mellie pulled out of the embrace, smiling softly, “I’m gonna head out now.”

  
  


“Okay.” Marcus put his hands in his pockets and followed her out of Olivia’s office. Huck had arrived while they were gone, and his eyes, along with the eyes of Quinn and Olivia, were following them as they walked out. 

  
  


Olivia stood up taller, crossing her arms and staring Marcus down. He looked extremely uncomfortable, which was the whole idea. “Um, can I take the day off?” He didn’t really want to be here at the moment.

  
  


Olivia snarled, “You’re a Gladiator, Marcus. Gladiators don’t take days off, and if you don’t know that by now then you’re clearly incompetent.” She felt a hand on her wrist, and she knew just by the thinness of the fingers, and the almost protective gasp, that it was Mellie. With a deep breath, she nodded, “Okay. Just show up tomorrow.” 

  
  


The members of Olivia Pope & Associates watched him exit the office, and when he left Mellie didn’t know what else to do but pull Olivia into the tightest hug yet.

  
  


**where mellie can't help but run to liv.**

  
  


Mellie was counting on spending the day with Olivia after her rough night, but then she had an impromptu meeting and had to leave the office. 

  
  


(When she went to leave, Olivia walked her into the lift. On their way down, Olivia turned to her, “I wish you could stay.” 

 

Mellie couldn’t decipher what Olivia was thinking, the emotions playing across her face. She knew that there was  _ something  _ going on in that brilliant head of hers, but she had no idea what. “Me too.” 

 

Olivia stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, her fingers rubbing smooth circles into Mellie’s back. When the elevator doors opened, neither of them let go, neither of them wanted to step away. But the doors went to close again, so Mellie quickly jumped out of the embrace and put her foot in the doorway so it wouldn’t shut. “Bye, Liv. I have Teddy tonight so I won’t be over.” The doors shut again on Mellie’s foot, and she laughed, “I have to go.”

 

Olivia smiled at her, and then leaned in boldly, kissing Mellie on the cheek.)

 

The meeting was incredibly dreary, and Mellie couldn’t focus anyway. Her mind kept drifting, drifting towards Olivia and her smile and the fact that she wouldn’t get to see her until tomorrow. 

 

She was also focusing on the way her cheek burned where Liv had kissed it. Mellie hadn’t been prepared for that, it was soft and nice and walking towards her car afterwards was like walking on clouds, or in a field of flowers. She wondered what it would be like if it was customary for them to kiss each other's cheeks every time they ran into each other--she would never be able to focus. When the elevator doors closed, Olivia’s face was smug (it was adorable). 

 

Last night Mellie had another dream about Fitz replacing her, and it made her feel even more horrible than the last. She wanted the presidency more than anything, she wanted to run the damn world, she wanted to kick Fitz off his high horse and make him suffer the consequences of his actions like anybody else. But she did not want Fitz with Olivia. Olivia was  _ better  _ than him, Olivia deserved the entire world.

 

When the meeting let out it was too late to go back to OPA, so she headed home. 

 

The sight of her house was not a pleasant one. She always hated it, the echoing hallways and rooms and feeling of it. Teddy was the only beacon of sunshine that was ever there (because she certainly wasn’t a glass half full type of person). 

 

Before she could leave her car her phone started ringing. Fishing around in her purse, she saw that Fitz was calling her (speak of the devil, right?). “What?”

 

“Hello to you, too.” Fitz grumbled, “Are you home yet?”

 

Mellie rolled her eyes, “Just pulled in. Why?”

 

“I had the nanny bring Teddy to me, I have an interview and they wanted him in it.” 

 

Mellie rested her head on the steering wheel, giving herself a moment to take a breath. “I did  _ not  _ give you permission to do that, Fitz.”

 

“Well, I’m his father, I gave him permission.”

 

“ _ I’m his mother _ !” She roared, “And it’s my day!” 

 

He groaned, “Mellie--”

 

“Whatever, Fitz. Just...be prepared for me to swoop into the White House and take Teddy on your day.” She hung up, throwing her phone onto the passenger seat. She let a few tears slide down her cheeks and put her head in her hands. She didn’t even know why this was so upsetting to her, it wasn’t the first time this had happened. Mellie was just breaking down, and she didn’t know if it was because of Fitz or Teddy or Marcus or Olivia or combination of them. 

 

Mellie felt a tendril of anxiety creep up her chest and into her throat, and she let out a loud sob. She dug her palms into her eyes until she could see bulbs of light flash behind her eyelids, and sat up. She shook her head, trying to calm herself down, and started her car back up.

 

Mellie was going to Liv’s.

  
  


**where olivia has trouble keeping her feelings in check.**

  
  


Olivia’s day was, to say the least, boring. She had been expecting to hang out with Mellie all day, and her leaving the office was just disappointing. And after that all she could think about was how she kissed Mellie, and Mellie’s smile lighting up her whole face afterwards, and the little look she had on her face while she walked out of OPA.

 

Olivia had no idea why she did it, but she definitely knew why it had felt so damn good.

 

While driving home she debated whether or not to go to Mellie’s, but she decided against it. She didn’t want to impose on Mellie and Teddy’s mother-son bonding time. She did love Teddy, though. He was the cutest kid, always bubbly and happy. Olivia thought that Karen liked her, probably due to the whole sex tape fiasco. 

  
  


(Actually, Karen had called her the other day to ask whether or not Olivia was dating her mom. “Karen, did you really believe that interview?”

  
  


“I don’t know, Liv, you guys are pretty close.” Karen laughed, “Like... _ gay  _ close.” 

  
  


Olivia rolled her eyes, “It’s just Sally being Sally.”

  
  


“I’m pretty sure it’s just you guys being big ol’ lesbians together.” 

  
  


She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “Karen--”

  
  


“No, really. I always lowkey thought you were dating, anyway.”)

  
  


But whenever Olivia was in the room with Mellie’s kids, whether it be just eating dinner or talking with them while Teddy watched a show on the TV, Mellie always got this look in her eyes, and she was just so  _ happy _ . Those were good moments.

  
  


Ever since she showed up at Quinn’s door step, she couldn’t stop thinking about Mellie. She was still thinking about her infuriating situation when she opened the door into her apartment and collapsed on the couch. “God.” Olivia mumbled to herself, massaging the bridge of her nose. 

 

She padded into the hallway and towards her room, only to find her bedroom door open. Immediately on guard, she pressed herself against the wall. Liv took a deep breath and peered around the side of the doorway.

 

There, under a bundle of blankets and fast asleep, was Mellie Grant.

 

Olivia shook her head, walking towards the bed as quietly as possible. Mellie’s arm was over her head, pulling blankets to shield her face--it looked as though she had been crying. Olivia’s smile morphed into worry, wondering what upset Mellie so much that she had come to Olivia’s apartment. 

 

She floundered for a moment, not knowing whether to wake Mellie up or let her sleep, and especially flustered that she had come home to Mellie in her bed. Though she looked upset, and her eyes were red and puffy, Mellie still looked beautiful, her hair fanned out across the pillow and her breathing even, her chest rising and falling. She looked peaceful. 

  
  


Olivia was looking down towards Mellie, and she reached her hand down to cup Mellie’s cheek, rubbing her thumbs across the plane of swollen skin. 

  
  


Mellie jerked away, roused by Olivia’s touch. When she saw that it was Olivia standing in front of her, she relaxed and eased her head back onto the pillow, “Liv.” She rubbed her eyes to wipe away her bleariness, “Sorry, I just wanted to--”

  
  


“No, it’s fine. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Olivia interrupted her, taking Mellie’s hands in hers. 

  
  


Mellie shook her head, “I should wake up anyway.” She sat up and stretched her arms, yawning. Olivia couldn’t help but laugh at her, and Mellie chuckled back. Mellie swung her legs out of the bed and tried to smooth down her ruffled hair.

  
  


“Your hair looks fine, Mel.” Olivia sat down next to her. Mellie was trying and failing to rub some of the redness out of her eyes, and Olivia finally addressed it, “What happened?”

  
  


Mellie shook her head, “Nothing, really. I just,” she waved her hands around her head, “This just happened.”

  
  


If there was one thing Olivia hated in the world, it was when Mellie was upset. She let Mellie lay her head on Olivia’s shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around Mellie. “I thought you had Teddy today?”

  
  


Mellie scoffed, “Yeah, well, apparently our schedule means nothing to him.” Olivia knew Mellie was talking about Fitz, and she felt a wave of hatred towards herself for ever driving a wedge between Mellie and her ex husband, and simultaneously relieved that Mellie was free from his clutches. Being Fitz’s First Lady was going to ruin Mellie. “He took Teddy and I’m just  _ upset _ , and I didn’t want to be in that empty house, I hate it. And I feel bad about Marcus--”

  
  


“Why do you feel bad? You didn’t do anything wrong.” Olivia interrupted her again.

  
  


Mellie shook her head, “I just do, Liv, and I really didn’t want to think about anything and get drunk and be sad all night in my house, so I came here.” When Mellie got to Liv’s house, she used her spare key and immediately went to Olivia’s bed (she wanted to say  _ their  _ bed, but alas), burying her face in Olivia’s pillow and trying to relax herself. 

  
  


(She’d had a spare key for about a month now. Mellie was upset one night--kind of like tonight, but worse. Mellie had been cornered by some guy in an alley, like some stereotypical scene from a movie. He had pushed Mellie to the ground and yelled obscene things at her, and once Mellie ran away she realized her own house wasn’t an option. She practically ran to Liv’s, crying the entire way and praying no cameramen saw her. When she got to Olivia’s, Olivia must have been at work, because no one answered the door. 

  
  


Mellie collapsed in front of Olivia’s apartment, bringing her knees up towards her and sobbing. When Olivia stepped off the lift, she ran towards Mellie with fear in her eyes, yelling her name. She helped her up and into the apartment, holding Mellie all night and letting her break down. 

  
  


The next day, once Mellie had had her fair amount of coffee and sleep, Olivia had handed her a key, “Come over whenever, Mel. I’m serious. I don’t want you sitting outside, crying. I don’t want you to cry  _ ever _ .”)

  
  


“Can I stay over tonight?” Mellie croaked, wondering if she had already barged in enough.

  
  


Olivia was surprised that it had even been asked. She had just assumed that Mellie would stay--she didn’t think she’d let her leave, based on how upset she was. “Of course, Mel.” She wondered if she should ask more about why Mellie was upset, but decided against her. If Mellie wanted to tell her, she would in due time. “Do you want any dinner?”

  
  


Mellie nodded, “That would be nice. What did you plan on having?”

  
  


Truthfully, Olivia hadn’t planned on having dinner at all. “Just some fruit, I guess.” Mellie laughed, placing her head in her hands.

  
  


“Liv, wine isn’t technically grapes, you know.”

  
  


Olivia shrugged, waving Mellie off, “I think you’re wrong.”

  
  


“I think I’m definitely right.” They laughed for a minute, Mellie starting to feel a bit better (and this was why she came to Liv in the first place, she always brought her up). 

  
  


They ended up having bowls of cereal, and a little bit of wine. However, neither of them drank that much, Mellie already feeling emotional and Olivia wanting to be there for her with a clear mind. After dinner, they lay on the couch in the living room, watching “Sisters.” Olivia had her arms around Mellie, and Mellie had hers around Olivia.

  
  


Olivia was pushing her feelings aside, knew that now was not the time. She could almost feel the fragility of the woman in her arms, could feel her slightly shaking, even when she was laughing at the movie. She could feel Mellie’s sadness through the way she was pressed up against Olivia, trying to get even closer, pulling Olivia’s arms tighter around her. Though she was telling her attraction to go away, it would not (of course). Olivia wanted to lean down--she’d only have to lean down an inch or so--and kiss Mellie with such a ferocity, kiss her hard and soft at the same time, so deeply that Mellie wouldn’t have to think about Fitz or Marcus, all she would think about would be Olivia’s lips on hers, their bodies wrapped around another. Olivia wanted to kiss every part of Mellie, to bring her back to bed and not even do anything, just kiss each other and hold Mellie close until she felt okay again. 

  
  


And the next day, she’d take her out to dinner and hold her hand across the table and kiss her again, and again, and again.

  
  


“Liv?” Mellie brought her hand to touch Olivia’s jaw, “You okay?”

  
  


Olivia nodded, wondering whether Mellie was purposefully driving her crazy. “I’m wonderful.” Now would be the perfect time to kiss Mellie, it would be so easy. 

  
  


“I, um, I’ve been thinking.” Mellie paused the movie, climbing out of Olivia’s embrace but still holding her hands.

  
  


Olivia raised her eyebrow, “You? Thinking?” They laughed, but Mellie quickly looked upset again.

  
  


“I’ve been having these dreams. They’re,” She took a breath, “It’s about if I win the presidency. Would Fitz replace me? If I won?” Mellie tried not to let a tear fall, she really did, but one did anyway.

  
  


Olivia’s eyes widened, and she squeezed Mellie’s hands, “Oh, Mel, of course not. I...no, definitely not. Fitz isn’t you. He could never be you.” Mellie smiled at her, and Olivia quite liked the sight of Mellie’s happiness breaking through the sadness. “I’m sticking by your side all the way to the White House, and even then, if you’ll have me.”

  
  


Mellie wondered what it would be like (not for the first time) to be President and have Olivia with her, ruling the country together. She’d make Olivia her Chief of Staff, if she wanted, or any other position. Anything to make Liv stay. She’d find a place for Huck and Quinn and even Marcus if they wanted, too. Mellie knew that it wasn’t plausible to ask Olivia to stay with her in the Residence, knew that it wouldn’t ever happen, because how could it? But she’d still ask her, if she won. If Liv did say yes, then those nights at the White House would be even better than she’d thought. She imagined Olivia walking into the Oval, grabbing her hand and telling her to go to sleep. They’d walk through the hallways, finally reaching the bedroom, and they would cuddle and sleep together and wake up and have breakfast just like normal. They’d be together.

  
  


“Of course, Liv. I want you here, always.” They smiled at each other, holding hands and trying not to break the little bubble of happiness they had forged.

  
  


For both of them, their future did not exist without the other.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Chapter 6 (yay? Idk how many people actually follow this story). I know that Mother's Day was last week, but I was inspired by the little family dinner my mom had for us, so I wrote this. Can we just say HOLY SHIT about Mellie in that finale? She's such a BAMF, I love her so much. Just...so much. 
> 
> Also, just a question: Who would propose to who?

**where mellie and karen have an odd mother-daughter conversation.**

  
  


It was one of the few nights a month where Mellie had both Teddy and Karen at the same time, and she was enjoying it immensely. She had ordered them pizza and even let them have ice cream afterward, and both kids were in a great mood, smiling and laughing, and it felt  _ nice.  _ Mellie didn’t know whether she was being bitter or not, but everything seemed so much easier without Fitz. He had put an entire strain on everyone in the room, and without him Mellie felt free to laugh and actually be herself, to let out a genuine smile, to actually talk to Karen about things that weren’t artificial and staged.

 

Once she put Teddy to bed (“Night Sissy, night Mommy!), Karen took advantage of this freedom and gave her Mom a knowing look, “So you and Liv, huh?” 

 

Mellie groaned, following Karen into her room, “Not you, too!” She laughed and sat down on Karen’s bed, “We’re not dating.”

 

“ _ Okay.  _ Sure, Mom.” Karen rolled her eyes and sat down next to Mellie, “You can’t lie to me, it’s all over your face.” 

 

Mellie instinctively covered her face, “It is not.”

 

“You’re blushing!” Karen pulled Mellie’s hands away from her face, “You like her!”

 

“Of course I’m blushing, you’re accusing me of dating my best friend.” Mellie leaned back on some pillows and shook her head, “And I do _ not  _ like her.” She paused for a moment, “Well, of course I like her, she’s my best friend, my campaign manager, etcetera, etcetera.” 

 

Karen shook her head. Her mother had always been like this, so oblivious to her feelings. It had taken her twenty years to realize that her and her dad were literally the worst people for each other. Of course, for so long Karen was oblivious to that too, but that was only due to her mother’s perfect mask. At first she was a little weirded out about Olivia and her mom together, but after seeing them interact, she just wanted her mom to be happy. And Olivia certainly made her happy.

  
  


“So you don’t think of her as anything more? Not even a little bit?” Karen knew her mother wouldn’t budge unless there was a lot of pushing, and she had no intention of giving up (she must have gotten that from Mellie). 

 

Mellie stared at the wall opposite her, playing with the seam of her dress. “I’m not talking about this with you.” 

 

“Oh my god, you like her, don’t you?” Karen pushed Mellie’s shoulder, “Come on, just admit it!” 

 

Mellie laughed, “I don’t!” 

 

“You do!”

 

“I really don’t.”

 

“Mom, I promise that you do.” Mellie just shook her head and laughed at her. Karen stared at her mom, and wondered how strange it would be to have both parents by a president at one point. Personally, she thought that her mom would do a better job than her dad. But that was just her opinion. (And probably everyone else's, too. She was pretty sure even Teddy agreed.)

 

Karen knew that her mother was a strong woman. She knew how terrible it had been after Jerry died, they both did, but Karen admired the way her mother came out of the darkness and took control. She shook off ‘Smelly Mellie’ and won the position as Senator of Virginia. She was running for President! She did so much, and Karen looked up to her. Even after Andrew and her father and everything else, Mellie was her mom, and she admired her.

 

(Karen remembered her political sciences teacher streaming her mother’s filibuster all day, and Karen had felt such a surge of pride, watching her stand up at there and advocate for women's rights, finally taking control.)

 

Her mother was the strongest woman Karen knew. She was smart, she was like an iron wall of unshakeable confidence. But Karen often doubted that she was happy. 

 

However, when Mellie was with Olivia she was a different person. She was a woman who smiled more than she did anything else, who was an overall happier person. One night, Olivia came over while Karen was visiting, and her mother looked so happy, Karen and Olivia and Teddy all in one room. Her Mom had made dinner and doted on Olivia so much it was almost sickening, but Olivia ate it up, repeatedly hugging Mellie and thanking her and making an effort to talk to Karen and play with Teddy.

 

Karen liked Olivia. She thought Olivia suited her mother. They fit together well, like they knew what the other was thinking, and they knew all the right things to say to each other. Her mother looked genuinely happy when Olivia was there, happier than she ever did with her dad. 

 

But they wouldn’t acknowledge it! They were ‘best friends,’ apparently. Karen knew better, she knew that her Mom had to just dig deep and realize her feelings for Liv, and then things would be better for all them. If she were happy now, just imagine how happy she’d be making out with Olivia. 

 

“Mom,” Karen sighed, “You just have to admit it.”

 

Mellie smiled at her, “There’s nothing to admit, Karen.” She stood up and smoothed down her dress, “I’m heading to bed. You should too, soon, okay?” 

 

Karen nodded, knowing there would be no real progress made tomorrow. “Okay. Love you.” 

 

Mellie leaned down and kissed Karen’s forehead. “Love you.” She went to leave the room, but right at the doorway, Karen called her name.

 

“Mom?” Mellie turned around to look at Karen, “One time I came downstairs while Liv was here, and you guys were together on the couch,” She smiled at her mother, “I’ve never seen you look happier. She makes you happy.  _ Let _ yourself be happy.”

 

Mellie stared at her daughter for a moment, trying not to let any emotion show on her face, “Goodnight, Karen.”

 

Once Mellie closed the door, she finally let herself breathe. She rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes.

 

She wished Liv were here. 

  
  


**where quinn is exposed to olivia’s gay bitching.**

 

“Is she  _ trying  _ to drive me crazy?” Olivia had made yet another 1AM appearance at Quinn’s, and when she opened the door Olivia had ran into Quinn’s apartment, complaining about Mellie. It was a backwards sort of a complaint, because she was ranting about how much she liked Mellie and how much she wanted to be with Mellie, but Olivia was a mixture of upset and doe eyed at the same time.

 

Quinn shook her head, sitting on the couch as she watched Olivia pace, “She’s probably not intentionally doing it.”

 

“Have you ever realized how much she touches me?” Olivia looked at her, wild-eyed. “Just all the time, she touches me! She hugs me, she touches my face, she grabs my waist and holds my hand, pats my shoulder and…all the time, Quinn!”

  
  


Quinn was thoroughly enjoying watching her boss fall deeper and deeper for Mellie, it was like an actual movie—a gooey, rom-com, watch with your girlfriend type of movie. “Like I said before, Liv: Yes, I notice these things. You do the same thing to her.”

  
  


“Which is why I’m not complaining, because I really enjoy having contact with her at all time, and if she all of a sudden  _ stopped  _ being all over me every second of the day, I’d be very concerned.” Olivia stopped pacing and smoothed down her hair, “But it makes it really hard to not kiss her when she’s two freaking inches from my face.”

  
  


Quinn laughed at her, “But you’re always touching her, too!”

  
  
  


“I  _ know  _ that, but that’s different. I don’t know what her feelings are for me.” Olivia suddenly looked upset, and she sat down next to Quinn. “And I’m not going to ask her. It’s not fair.”

  
  


“Liv,” Quinn faltered for a moment, but then rested a hand on Olivia’s shoulder, “I know you’re scared. But Mellie is…Mellie. I’ve never seen two people be so close to each other. I’ve never seen her happier.”

  
  


Olivia smiled to herself, feeling a little smug. Just the thought of making Mellie happy was enough to make her smile. Mellie deserved a lot more than she got, more than she ever got. Over long talks on longer nights, Olivia had learned more about Mellie’s past, about all the things she’s been through and suffered and survived. And Olivia hated it, hated that the planets aligned in just the right way to make the most amazing person in her life suffer the most.

  
  


(There had been many times where she’d seen Mellie break down, and it was not pretty, not a poetic sort of meltdown, but a complete explosion. Mellie was quick to anger and quick to defend, but when she was hurt, actually,  _ cripplingly _ sad, it turned her into a different person. She turned into a woman with shaking hands and no hope and her mind a complete jumble of anxiety and anger and sadness.

  
  


If Olivia somehow quelled that sadness, tamped it down and kept it contained so that it didn’t stifle Mellie, didn’t ruin everything, then she was happy. Mellie’s happiness was worth the entire world.)

  
  


Olivia didn’t really know why she was going to Quinn. She wasn’t sure if Quinn had forgiven her for leaving for the island—she wasn’t really sure if she’d forgiven herself, yet—and she wasn’t sure if Quinn even liked her as a person. But Quinn was a Gladiator, and maybe that was why Olivia was at her house at one in the morning for the second time. All Olivia knew was that Quinn thought that her and Mellie  _ had _ something, and she needed to get to the bottom of that.

  
  


“You really think I make her happy?” She brought her knees up to her chest and cradled herself.

  
  


Quinn nodded, “You can tell just by the look on her face.”

**where mellie is the mother of opa.**

  
  


“Hey, I’m here!” Mellie burst into OPA in her typical loud fashion, announcing her presence to Marcus, Quinn, and Huck, who were sitting at the conference table and discussing something or other. Quinn noticed how nervous Mellie looked, which was odd. 

 

“Mellie.” Quinn nodded to her, and Marcus ducked his head down. Huck sat silent in his chair like always, but he cracked a bit of a smile at Mellie.

 

(Olivia knew that Quinn and Marcus both really liked Mellie, but she had no idea if Huck did. However, that changed one day after everyone left OPA, and Olivia was the only one there--besides Huck. Mellie had just left, hugging Olivia and telling her that she’d see her tomorrow with a lingering smile and a lingering embrace. 

 

Huck had walked into Olivia’s office, “I like Mellie.”

 

“You do?” Olivia tried to suppress a smile, “That’s good.” Huck nodded and stared at her for a moment, then walked out with a goodnight. That was all that was said, but it was enough.)

 

Mellie opened her mouth to call Olivia, but she already was out of her office, practically running across the room and pulling Mellie into a hug, “Mellie, I didn’t know you were stopping by!” Her smile said it all, and Mellie was momentarily stunned by how genuinely  _ happy _ Olivia looked to see her (people normally didn’t look like that when she walked into a room). And the feeling of Olivia crashing into her and wrapping her arms around her back and her smile lighting up her face, Mellie had the strange notion to dip down and kiss her.

 

On the nose. Or the cheek. That’s what best friends  _ do _ .

 

“I, uh--” Mellie shook her head and tried to redirect her thoughts away from Olivia’s smile, “I hadn’t planned on it, but I have a couple minutes before my next meeting, so I figured I’d drop by. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”

 

“Of course not!” Quinn smiled at Mellie, shooting a look at Olivia, who still had her arms wrapped around Mellie. Olivia stepped away, her cheeks red. 

 

Mellie decided not to comment on their little silent exchange, and instead clapped her hands together, “I wanted to invite you all to dinner at my house for Mother’s Day.” 

 

It was silent for a moment, “Mother’s Day?” Quinn questioned.

 

“Yes, it’s this weekend.” Mellie arched an eyebrow, “Did you not know that?”

 

“No, I didn’t.”

 

Mellie laughed, “Well, anyways, Mother’s Day  _ is  _ this weekend. And you all have been really nice and welcoming to me during the campaign and beyond, so I wanted to thank you all. Mother’s Day is just an excuse to get us all together.”

 

When no one answered for a second, Olivia grabbed Mellie’s hand, “I think it’s a great idea, Mel. I’ll certainly be there.”

 

“I already decided for you, Liv. You’re coming early to help me with dinner.” Mellie didn’t look at Olivia when she said it, just accepted Liv would say yes with a little smirk on her face.

 

Olivia laughed, “Will do.”

 

Quinn stifled a laugh at both of their ridiculous, idiotic smiles. For two of the smartest women she knew, they certainly were oblivious. Well, turns out Olivia wasn’t, but she wouldn’t  _ do  _ anything about it. Just imagine how much they’d be smiling if Olivia just kissed Mellie right now. Mellie would probably explode. Just all over the place, she’d explode, gayness everywhere.

 

“Of course I’ll come.” Quinn smiled.

 

Huck nodded, “Me too.”

 

They all looked at Marcus, who seemed extremely uncomfortable, “I’m with my mother that day. Sorry, Mellie.” 

 

Mellie didn’t want to say that she was relieved, but something lifted off her chest, and she could feel Olivia’s grasp on her wrist grow even tighter, “Of course, your mother is first, obviously.” She smiled and turned back to Liv, “I have to go now. I just wanted to drop by and invite everyone.”

 

Olivia wondered if they would ever end up together, because if they were dating, now would be a perfectly good time to reach up and kiss Mellie. But, alas, they weren’t, so it would probably be unwise to kiss Mellie at the moment. Instead of kissing, she twisted a lock of Mellie’s hair around her finger. “Bye.” 

 

Mellie the walked out of the office, leaving Olivia standing there, stunned, as if the the sun had been ripped away from the very earth.

  
  


**where liv is in it for the long haul.**

  
  


When Mother’s Day came around the corner, Olivia was expected at Senator Grant’s door at 10 AM to start the preparations for the day. So, at 10 AM on the dot, she was there, knocking on the door and waiting to see the one person in the world she wanted to see most. Olivia was holding a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates with a card, hoping it didn’t seem like too much.

 

(When she was buying these at the store, the cashier looked at her oddly, “You do know it’s not Valentine’s Day, right? It’s Mother’s Day.”

 

He looked at her funny, but she knew Mellie would enjoy it anyway.)

 

“Olivia!” Mellie opened the door and immediately wrapped her in a hug, careful to avoid the flowers. For a second, they didn’t move, just stood there with their arms wrapped around each other.

 

Olivia pulled back, afraid she’d never want to let go if Mellie kept holding her like this, “Happy Mother’s Day.” She smiled and extended the gifts out to her, “I brought you some stuff.”

 

Mellie grabbed the flowers and pressed her nose against them (peonies, Mellie’s favorite), “Liv...you didn’t have to.”

 

“I know, but I wanted to.” Olivia followed Mellie into the house, trying to hide the blush that was quickly forming. She followed Mellie into the kitchen and watched as she stretched up to reach a vase in a high cabinet. Mellie took the flowers out of their wrapping and placed them in the vase, filled it with water, and put them in the dining room.

 

Mellie stood in front of the flowers, then started at Olivia, “I really appreciate you coming so early.”

 

“Of course,” Olivia reached for Mellie’s hand, but was interrupted by heavy steps running downstairs.

 

“Mommy, Karen’s being  _ mean _ !” A very disgruntled Teddy yelled, followed by a laughing Karen.

 

At Mellie’s inquisitive glance, Karen shook her head, “I told him that ‘Auntie Liv’ wasn’t coming,” She nodded at Olivia with a small smile and a sideways glance to her mother, “but apparently you’re here.” 

 

This caught Teddy’s attention, and he whipped his head to look for Olivia. Upon seeing her and a little wave she gave him, he ran into her arms, “Auntie Liv!”

 

“Hey, Teddy Bear.” Olivia gave him a kiss on the nose and picked him up, “Are you being nice to your Mom today?” 

 

Teddy looked over at Mellie, who was currently glaring at Karen (who was shaking her head as if she knew something they all didn’t). “It’s Mother’s Day, so I have to be  _ very  _ nice to Mommy.” Mellie looked away from Karen and towards Teddy, and scooped him out of Olivia’s arms. “Mommy said this was her special day, and that means no fighting with Karen.” He looked at Karen and she stuck out her tongue, “But we all love her very much, so it’s okay.”

 

“Yes you do, baby boy.” Mellie tickled his stomach, Teddy squealing and squirming out of her arms. She set him down and he ran off into another room, leaving just the two of them with Karen.

 

Karen walked towards Olivia and hugged her, “Mom said you might not come.” She looked at Mellie, who was shaking her head vigorously, “But apparently not.”

 

“Why wouldn’t I come?” Olivia teased Mellie.

 

Mellie shrugged, “I just, you know, nobody wants to help cook all day, it would be understandable if you wouldn’t want to.”

 

Olivia looked at Karen, “She’s crazy.” Karen laughed and Mellie swatted Liv’s shoulder.

 

“It’s Mother’s Day, be nice!” She yelled, but Karen had already walked into the other room with Teddy.

 

Olivia watched Mellie’s face light up with her children as she always did, like a little beacon of happiness. Before Olivia really knew her, she thought that Mellie was a little detached from her children, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. Mellie loved Karen and Teddy with every bit of her heart.

 

“Karen thinks we’re together.” Mellie figured she’d just get it out there now, before Karen did something to embarrass them while Huck and Quinn were over.

 

(Before Olivia came, Mellie had told Karen to behave herself. “I know you think we’re together--”

 

“Because you are.”

 

“-- _ no _ , we’re not. I know you  _ think  _ we’re together, but don’t make Olivia uncomfortable while she’s here. She’s doing me a favor, helping me out today.” Mellie didn’t understand why her daughter--and the rest of the country, for that matter--thought her Olivia were together, but here they were. She was okay, if not a little surprised, when Karen talked about Olivia and her as a couple, but she didn’t want Olivia getting upset.

 

Karen shook her head, “Mom, you  _ do _ know that Liv would do literally anything you asked her too, right? You could ask her to make you President, and she--oh, wait. Isn’t that what’s happening right now?”

 

“You’re such a brat.” Mellie laughed.

 

Karen put her shoulders on her mother’s arms, “You’re not still worrying about whether she’ll go to the White House with you, right?” At Mellie’s silence, she sighed, “Mom.”

 

“I know, I know.”

 

“No, you don’t know. You have this weird thing that Olivia  _ won’t  _ run the world with you. Do you still think she loves Dad?” Karen frowned.

 

Mellie glared at her, “I’m not talking about your father and Liv with you.”

 

“There’s nothing to talk about, that’s why! It’s not a thing anymore, they’re not a thing.  _ You’re  _ her thing.” 

 

“Stop giving me relationship advice.” Mellie crossed her arms. 

 

Karen leaned her head against the wall she was next to, “I’m just trying to make you see common sense. Olivia is going to the White House with you, okay? You guys are going to be big gays in the White House. Just accept that.”

 

Mellie blanched, “Karen.”

 

“Sorry. Happy Mother’s Day.”)

 

Olivia nodded knowingly, “I know, she called me the day the interview aired.” 

 

“What?” Mellie looked at her in horror, “I’m sorry, Liv, I’ll talk to her, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable--”

 

“Mellie, shut up.” Olivia interrupted her with a little laugh, “It’s fine. Really.”

 

Mellie looked at her suspiciously, but then slowly nodded her head, “Alright.” They walked into the kitchen and Mellie took out a carton of cool whip from the fridge and a spoon from the silverware drawer.

 

Olivia watched with a huge grin as Mellie took a large spoonful of the stuff and shoved it into her mouth, looking at anywhere but Olivia. When she finally saw Liv’s smile, though, she shrugged, “It’s Mother’s Day.”

  
  


“Are you going to use that as an excuse to do whatever you want today?” Olivia smiled and reached out to wipe a bit of cool whip off of Mellie’s nose (how the  _ hell  _ did she manage to get it on her nose?). 

  
  


Mellie smiled, “Absolutely.” 

  
  


For the next couple of hours, Mellie was a swarm of cooking, baking, and ordering Olivia around. At the moment, Mellie was frantically frosting a fruitcake she had made, worrying about the fact that she wouldn't have enough cool whip (because she ate it all). Olivia didn't really know what to do, and she was just staring at her looking at the most frantic frosting of her life. 

  
  


“Liv, can you put my hair up?” Mellie spun the cake around to get the other side, and Liv grabbed a ponytail in her pocket. Olivia grabbed all of Mellie’s hair and twisted it into a bun, fastening it at the top of her head. When Mellie’s hair was out of the way, Olivia momentarily floundered in indecision, but then decided to lay her hands on Mellie’s shoulders and neck, massaging lightly. 

  
  


Mellie immediately slumped into her touch, “Oh, wow.” She hummed in approval, and Olivia felt her cheeks burn. “Could you-- _ yes _ , that feels  _ wonderful.”  _ Olivia laughed at her. 

  
  


“You're getting overwhelmed with the dinner. It's just Huck and Quinn.” Olivia whispered, stopping her massaging and turning towards Mellie. “Just calm down, I don't want you getting stressed about it.”

 

“ _ Just  _ Quinn and Huck? God, Liv. Everything has to be perfect, you know this.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Where are the strawberries? Can you get me the strawberries?”

  
  


Olivia did, in fact, retrieve the strawberries, and after that they whirred around the kitchen in a frantic rush (even though no one was coming for 30 more minutes). Olivia never really cooked anything, so it was like a show, seeing Mellie take out all the ingredients and knowing how to do everything and cooking and cleaning and she was just  _ perfect.  _ Olivia tried really hard not to imagine what this situation would be like if they were dating--something she’d been doing frequently lately--and thought of Mellie teaching her how to cook, her hands overlapping Olivia’s, telling her where to put different things and how much at once. Mellie would have her hands on her waist and her lips on Olivia’s neck, and she’d distract Olivia so much that she'd spill flour everywhere, but she'd turn around in Mellie’s arms and kiss her senseless. 

  
  


“Olivia?” Mellie's voice snapped her out of her reverie, and she turned to see Mellie holding a big pot. “Could you start washing some dishes for me?” Olivia nodded and did what she was told, a little embarrassed that she’d been thinking, in detail, about kissing Mellie, and Mellie was right in front of her. 

  
  


They worked in silence for a minute, stirring and washing and cooking and cleaning, and Mellie couldn't help but think how horrible domestic this all was. 

  
  


“Mellie, I was thinking…” Olivia took a deep breath and watched as Mellie looked up at her, her blue eyes looking ever bluer than usual, her hair up in a messy bun and her shirt speckled with flour. “I was thinking about the other night, when you asked me if Fitz would replace you, and I just keep thinking about it, about how that makes you upset and all of that. I don't like it when you're upset, you know.” Olivia set down a dish that she was washing, and she walked over towards Mellie, who was looking pointedly down at the pasta she was stirring. 

  
  


“Fitz could never,  _ ever,  _ replace you. There's nothing in the whole world that he could do to take your place. You're certainly taking his,” She laughed, “Because you  _ will  _ win this Presidency. You will replace him, but he will not replace you.”

  
  


Mellie could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she tried to stop them, but Olivia already saw and she put a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you, Olivia.” There didn't seem much else to say, it wasn't as if Mellie could say, ‘Hey, while we’re on the subject, do you want to move into the White House with me?’

  
  


So she didn't say anything else, just let Olivia put her hands on her waist while she stirred the pasta, wishing the world could just slow down so they could stay like this forever. A cocoon of happiness, together and inseparable and not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. 

  
  


**where mellie is very humbled by her new little family.**

 

When the guests finally arrived, Olivia was told by Mellie to go and open the door, because Mellie was preoccupied with stirring carrots and cutting the potatoes. Olivia smoothed her dress down--a blue dress that Mellie really liked and suggested she’d wear--and headed towards the door, shaking her head yet again at the domesticity of the situation. Of course Mellie had her answer the door, like they were married and Olivia was welcoming guests to  _ their _ house for dinner. 

  
  


Olivia swung the door open to both Quinn and Huck, “Hi, guys!” Olivia smiled at them, taking the bottle of wine that Quinn was holding, “Oh, Mellie will love this.”

  
  


“It’s probably shitty wine, I’m not a major in it like you two.” Quinn laughed, following Olivia into the house. 

  
  


Olivia turned to Huck, “Did you two drive here together?”   


 

“No, we just got here the same time.” Huck had been here for several minutes, but he didn’t want to walk in alone, so when Quinn arrived he got out of the car. He noticed Olivia’s ease when walking around Mellie’s house, like she’d been here a million times (and she probably had). 

  
  


Olivia set the wine down on the table, “Mellie--”

  
  


“I’m here!” Mellie popped out of the kitchen, her hair and makeup impeccable even after her frantic cooking for the past three hours. “Thank you guys so much for coming over!” Mellie brought both of them into a hug, Quinn gladly accepting and Huck reluctantly hugging back. 

  
  


“Mel, Quinn brought wine.” Olivia nodded to the bottle on the table, and Mellie clapped her hands together.

  
  


“You’re so sweet, Quinn.” Mellie smiled at her, all of a sudden thinking back to when Quinn had showed up at her door and comforted her when she was fighting with Olivia, and couldn’t resist the urge to hug her again.

 

Quinn laughed when Mellie hugged her again, and she was about to say ‘Stop, you’re making Olivia jealous,’ but figured it’d probably not be a good idea. Instead she went with, “It’s shitty wine.”

 

“Oh, don’t be silly, I’m sure it’s fine. It’s wine.” Mellie laughed and walked towards the stairs, her heels clicking. “Kids! They’re here!” 

 

A moment later, Teddy ran down the stairs and was followed by Karen. “Everyone, these are my kids, Karen and Teddy. Kids, this is Quinn and Huck. They work for Liv.” Karen said a little hello, and Teddy hid behind Mellie’s legs. She smoothed his hair and smiled down at him. “Dinner should be ready in a couple of minutes. Liv, can you can get them drinks?”

 

“Sure.” Olivia smiled at Mellie and started pouring some wine for the four of them, also grabbing some drinks for the kids per Mellie’s request. 

 

Once Mellie left the room, Quinn smiled brightly at Liv, “You guys are  _ so  _ married.” She whispered. 

  
  


Olivia laughed under her breath and bit her lip, “I know, right?” 

 

As promised, a few minutes later dinner was served. Mellie refused to let anybody do anything, pushing them into their seats and serving dinner herself. Mashed potatoes, baked macaroni, meatloaf, carrots, gravy, Mellie had slaved over the stove for hours with Olivia’s help, and she was damn well going to make sure everyone had plenty of everything. With the clinking of dishes and preoccupied silence, everyone was sitting and enjoying the meal. Mellie barely ate she was too busy making sure Teddy was doing okay, and everybody else was eating too. 

  
  


She was watching everyone to make sure they looked happy with the food, and she felt a tap on her knee under the table. Olivia caught her eye and nodded her head to Mellie’s food. Mellie nodded back and took a bite of mashed potatoes, feeling around for any lumps and thankfully not finding any.

  
  


“Jesus Mellie, I didn’t know you could cook!” Quinn shoveled another bite of baked macaroni into her mouth, “And, damn, can you cook.”

  
  


Mellie laughed and felt a little tendrel of anxiety wither away in stomach, “Oh, thank you. You would know if OPA’s diet consisted of something other than takeout.”

  
  


“Take out’s good,” Huck laughed. “This is better, though.”

  
  


Mellie smiled to herself and ate some more, finally relaxing. The small talk of dinner ensued, consisting of Karen’s school happenings, Mellie’s campaign, and Olivia constantly bragging about Mellie’s kids, mostly to annoy Karen.

  
  


(Olivia and Karen had a great relationship, which was surprising to Mellie at first. They were both very hard headed--but she could have said the same thing about her and Olivia getting along.)

  
  


Huck was especially nice to Teddy, asking him about his baseball team and his favorite superheroes and making funny faces at him across the table. Everything was going surprisingly well, and Olivia kept looking at her with this big smile, and Mellie felt like this was her family now. OPA had been wonderful to her during the campaign, and she was surprised that they let her into their little group, letting her enter their world and invite them over for dinner, and that they’d be nice to her kids and let her take naps in Olivia’s office and pitch in on a case every once in awhile. It made Mellie happy.

  
  


However, the whole idea of having people over was enough to drive her anxiety mad, and she could not help but clench her fists and take deep, calming breaths. Every once in awhile she would look up at Olivia, and Olivia would smile at her, her eyes a promise of safety. After about ten of these looks, Olivia slid her leg next to hers under the table, and Mellie didn’t pull away but held the constant contact. (Quinn and Karen definitely noticed the looks. Oh, yes, they noticed them.) Dinner went smoothly after that, and soon enough Karen and Quinn volunteered to do the dishes, Mellie thanking them profusely.

  
  


“It’s Mother’s Day.” Quinn and Karen chorused at the same time.

  
  


As soon as Karen and Quinn went into the kitchen, Karen turned to Quinn, “Did you see them playing footsie under the table?” 

  
  


Quinn gasped, “ _ No! _ Were they--wait, do you think they’re dating?”

  
  


“They’re not dating, unfortunately, but they’re practically married.” Karen laughed, cleaning off the dishes. 

  
  


Quinn nodded, “They really are.”

  
  


“I agree. Liv was over all day helping my Mom, but they didn’t start cooking until, like, two hours ago.” 

  
  


Quinn shook her head, “They’re so oblivious it’s insane.” She wanted to tell Karen that Olivia was actually in love with Mellie--like, really, really in love, but she knew that Karen would tell her mother and then Liv would be  _ pissed _ . So instead she looked at Karen pleadingly, “You should help your Mom realize she’s got it deep.”

  
  


“Quinn, that’s all we talk about. Even if we’re not talking about Liv, I know she’s thinking about her.” Karen smiled, “When my mom wins the presidency, they’re going to run the world.”

  
  


**where olivia pope is olivia nope.**

  
  


Olivia realized that she should probably go home, knew that as Huck and Quinn left, then as Mellie put Teddy, then Karen, to bed. She knew that she was lingering, standing by Mellie’s side or in the living room or finding another thing to clean so she didn’t have to go. Olivia didn’t want to leave--she never did, but it was prominent now.

 

All day she had been reveling in her closeness with Mellie, and it felt like they were a family. Thank God that Teddy and Karen liked her, because she never wanted to leave this damn house. She wanted to be with Mellie all the time, whether it be as her friend or her girlfriend or her campaign manager. Really, whatever it took to stay with Mellie was enough for her (as long as she could stare at Mellie’s blue eyes and startling smile, it was okay).

 

But as Mellie walked down the stairs in those high heels, Olivia knew she had to go. 

 

She couldn’t be with Mellie. It just couldn’t happen, for so many reasons. Mellie was running for President, God damn it, and Olivia was her campaign manager. Mellie was indeed gay--well, she had been with a woman, and still liked women in some capacity--but she couldn’t be gay with Olivia, she wouldn’t win. Of course, she could announce a relationship with her after she became President, but then a second term was out of the question. And here Olivia was, analyzing the political optics of Mellie having a relationship with her when she didn’t even  _ know  _ if Mellie thought of her as more than a friend.

 

But what about everything, everything as in their sleeping together almost every night, the fact that Mellie would sometimes hold her so tight Olivia couldn’t breathe, that Mellie would wrap her arms around Olivia and just  _ hold  _ her, and ask her, “Please just hug me for a year, Liv.” What about Mellie’s lingering looks, the way she looked Olivia up and down in a tight dress, or how she looked her up and down even in sweats, even after she just woke up. What about Mellie hugging her constantly, pulling her close and giving her tiny massages and showering her with gifts and constant exclamations of endearment. And what about Olivia’s thigh, which was still burning from touching Mellie’s leg all throughout the dinner?

 

Olivia looked at Mellie as she came down the stairs, her hair bouncing and her dress clinging tightly and her smile and her blue eyes shining brighter than any star, and  _ god _ , she just wanted to kiss her. She wanted to run up to Mellie and kiss her so intensely, then softly, and then down her neck and back up again, she wanted Mellie to kiss her back, wanted Mellie to push her against a wall and kiss her just as fierce, then just as soft.

 

Instead, Olivia grabbed her purse and headed towards the door, listening for Mellie’s heels following her. “Thank you so much for helping me today, Liv.” And of course, Mellie pulled Olivia in for a hug and invaded Olivia’s mind and senses with her perfume and her hair and her body pressed incredibly close. Did normal people hug like this? 

 

“Anytime. Happy Mother’s Day.” And then she was gone, Olivia wishing she could turn back and Mellie wishing she never let her go.   
  


 

*** 

  
  


It wasn’t until she was in bed later that night, her mind bleary with exhaustion, that she wondered what would have happened if she had kissed Olivia.

 

On the nose. Or on the cheek.

 

Because,  _ god damn it,  _ that’s what friends  _ do. _

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that my updates have been delayed lately, school has been hectic. But it ends soon enough, so hopefully my chapters will come quicker. Anyways, here's Chapter Seven! Thank you again for all the reviews, everyone's comments and kudos just makes me want to write even more. I never want this story to end! 
> 
> Also, if this story were a Shakespearean play, this would be the technical climax, I think. The emotional climax is coming soon, y'all better buckle up for that. 
> 
> Another Mellivia question. So I introduced little pet names they give each other in this chapter, but if you guys don't really think that suits them, leave a pet name in the comments that you want them to use! I didn't really know which to use, so I went with honey and babe, but if you all have a different idea for what they'd call each other, I have an open mind. 
> 
> Thank you again! I hope you like this chapter. xoxo

**where mellie is very clingy and liv pretends not to notice.**

  
  


“Olivia Carolyn Pope, when was the last time you invited me over for dinner?” This was the first thing Mellie had said once Olivia picked up the phone, her smile growing even wider at her tone. 

 

Olivia laughed, “Like, two days ago.” She was shuffling papers around her desk, trying to look like she was on an important call so that no one would barge into her office and interrupt her. “You came over the night before Mother’s Day, remember? You made us spaghetti? We watched  _ A Walk to Remember  _ and you cried? Any of this ringing a bell?” She didn’t mention the very memorable fact of Mellie dragging her feet into Olivia’s bed out of tiredness and mumbling, ‘Night, honey,’ falling asleep before Olivia could look at her with wide eyes. She didn’t mention that she could feel every cell in her body buzzing with those two words, the fact that’d Mellie called her honey, half asleep, no less. Olivia did not mention these things, but oh, did she remember them.

 

“I did  _ not  _ cry. But it’s been too long. Let’s have a night in.” Mellie was curled up on her couch, a heating pad on her abdomen and her head resting on the edge. She thought of a nice night with Olivia, sitting on Olivia’s couch and cuddling, watching a movie, eating popcorn and--“Buy chocolate ice cream for me?”

 

Olivia was quiet for a moment, and then let out a little ‘oh.’ “Are you on your period?” She stifled a laugh. 

 

“Whether or not my uterus chooses to torture me even though I know  _ very well  _ that I am not pregnant--due to the fact that no one has even  _ touched _ me in what seems like a century, other than being groped in an elevator, of course--has no correlation to me wanting chocolate ice cream.” She sighed, “But yes, I am, if you must know.”

 

Olivia didn’t stop herself from laughing this time, “Okay, that makes more sense.” Mellie was always like this when it came  _ that _ time of month: extremely clingy and hungry and willing to cuddle with Olivia for a week straight. Not that Olivia minded. In fact, she quite liked it, the way Mellie snuck chocolate into the kitchen so that Olivia couldn’t see (she always saw), how she clung onto Olivia like she was the only one in the room. She should have known Mellie was on her period due to the fact that she’d been holding Olivia’s hand for what seemed like all day yesterday, her other hand on her knee or her shoulder or her waist, driving Olivia mad in the best way possible. 

 

“So can I come over tonight?” Mellie pressed the heating pack harder onto her stomach, thinking of Olivia and chocolate ice cream and desperately hoping she would get to sleep on Olivia’s soft mattress (and who would be with her was also a plus). 

 

Olivia was already pulling on her coat, “I’ll be at my place in ten minutes, you can come by whenever you want.” 

 

Mellie jumped off of the couch, looking around for her shoes before realizing she had to put something on other than a hoodie and underwear. She stopped for a moment, “Will you have the chocolate ice cream?”

 

“Of course.” 

 

“I’ll be there in ten, then.”

  
  


**where mellie enjoys herself but not too much because oh god.**

  
  


Mellie was already sitting on Olivia’s couch, remote in hand and heating pad firmly in place, when Olivia walked through the door with several grocery bags.

 

“Hey, Liv!” Mellie smiled, taken slightly aback by the smile on Olivia’s face. “What’s got you all smiley?”

 

Olivia shook her head and bit her lip, walking past Mellie and the couch and into the kitchen, “Nothing.” She heard the sound of plastic bags and assumed Olivia was putting away the groceries. “I got chocolate ice cream!”

 

“Thanks, honey.” She blurted out the name before she even realized the word was coming out, but her hands flew to her mouth. She waited in bated silence, the sound of the plastic bags stopping for a moment.

  
  


“Any time, babe.” Olivia’s voice rang from the other room, and Mellie smiled behind her fingers, smiled so hard her cheeks hurt. Mellie looked down at her hands, the nail color a little chipped (she’d been too busy to get them re-done). She tried to push the image of Olivia’s smile out of her mind, trying not to focus on bright white teeth and deep red lipstick and her pretty, pretty face. 

 

The truth was, she had been trying to get Olivia’s face out of her mind for the last couple days, ever since that dinner on Mother’s Day, a night she couldn’t seem to forget. Mellie couldn’t forget the heat rushing to her cheeks as Olivia slid her leg onto hers under the table, couldn’t forget the feeling of Olivia’s strong, firm hands rubbing her shoulders as she frosted the cake, couldn't forget, couldn’t shake off, Olivia’s gaze on her the entire night. She couldn’t soon forget Olivia’s face right before she left. Mellie didn’t want to say she saw longing in Olivia’s eyes, but that was the only way she could describe it.

 

The one thing she couldn’t quite forget, though, was wanting to kiss Olivia. And whenever this line of thought entered her mind, she shook her head and did something to occupy herself. She started working or typing or reading or busying herself with Teddy, pushing the image of Olivia’s lips so close to hers out of her mind. 

 

And,  _ god,  _ Olivia just called her  _ babe _ . 

 

Mellie was brought of her reverie by arms wrapping around her behind the couch, a chin on her shoulder, a hand in her hair. “I’m glad you came over tonight.” She heard Olivia’s voice whisper, and Mellie lifted her hand to Olivia’s head behind her. “I missed you.”

 

“I missed you too.” Mellie wanted to turn around and look at Olivia, see the smile that would undoubtedly be there, the stretch of red lips on white teeth, but she knew that if she even turned her head an inch then she’d be too close to Olivia’s mouth, and she didn’t want to test herself. (Really, she didn’t want another image to ponder at 2AM in the morning, but mostly she didn’t want to test herself.)

 

Mellie hoped Olivia couldn’t feel her heart beating against her rib cage ( _ why _ it was beating so fast was lost on her), but soon enough she pulled away, and Mellie was torn between being relieved and wishing she’d stay. “What are you watching?” Olivia asked, rounding the side of the couch and sitting next to Mellie.

 

“Just surfing.” Out of instinct--or maybe a little bit of conscious decision--Mellie moved closer to Olivia, hoping that she’d wrap her arms around her. Olivia did just this, letting Mellie rest her head on her chest and grabbing her hand, the other playing with Mellie’s hair. When Mellie thought of safety, of Olivia, she thought of this position, on the couch or in the bed (she had to stop herself from thinking  _ their  _ bed), wrapped up in each other and not minding it at all. 

 

(Mellie remembered the first time they lay like this. It was after a couple weeks of being more than just tentative friends, but actual  _ friends  _ who confided in each other and laughed together and invited each other over for dinner. Olivia had ordered Gettysburger for them, and after dinner they started watching a movie-- _ The Pelican Brief.  _

 

They had both had their legs pulled up close to themselves, and Mellie made a bold move and rested her head on Olivia’s shoulder. She had felt Olivia’s body go rigid, so she lifted her head up. Before she could fully move, though, Olivia reached out for her and pulled Mellie back down, putting her head back on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around Mellie.

  
  


Mellie specifically remembered not being able to focus on Julia Roberts’ pretty face, because she was too preoccupied with the feeling of Olivia’s strong arms on her sides, her warm breath tickling Mellie’s face, the movement of her heartbeat. She didn’t focus on the movie at all.

  
  


Ever since that night, they had no problem cuddling; in fact, they preferred it, rather than just sitting next to each other. Or rather, Mellie preferred it--she had no idea how Olivia felt, but she had a strange inkling she didn’t much mind, because half the time it was her pulling Mellie close, her fueling her ridiculous habit of playing with Mellie’s hair.)

  
  


Following this train of thought, she craned her neck to look up at Olivia, “Let’s watch  _ The Pelican Brief. _ ”

  
  


Mellie didn’t think Olivia would remember, but judging by the beautiful smile that made its way across her face, she did. “You’re the most sentimental person I know, Mel.” She laughed, watching a blush spread across Mellie’s cheeks.

  
  


“There’s no other reason I want to watch the movie other than to see Julia Roberts’ pretty face.” Mellie looked at the screen pointedly, going on On Demand to look for the movie.

  
  
  


Olivia scoffed, “ _ Sure. _ ” Mellie didn’t answer. She turned on the movie, ignoring Olivia’s low laughter behind her.

  
  


About half way through the movie, Mellie realized there was no point in even putting on, because she wasn’t watching it at all. Just once, just  _ once _ , she’d like to watch this movie and actually pay attention to it. But there was no way she could focus on Julia Roberts and her legal trouble and run from the White House when Olivia kept playing with her hair, her fingers brushing Mellie’s ear every once in awhile, sending shivers down her spine. There was no way she could focus when Olivia was rubbing her foot on Mellie’s leg, massaging her back, rubbing her fingers all along her arms and her legs and her collarbone.

  
  


Mellie didn’t think Olivia was purposefully driving her mad, because she was watching the movie, laughing every once in awhile or gasping or commenting on something that happened. Mellie would just laugh along, or nod when Olivia said something, but in reality she had no idea what was happening, could only focus on the soft brushing of Olivia’s fingers all over her. 

  
  


“Mellie?” Olivia called her name, her knuckles drawing a line across Mellie’s jaw.

  
  


Mellie leaned into the touch, “Mhm?” She tried to keep her voice as level as possible, too distracted to sort through the things racing in her mind. She wanted Olivia to ask, ‘What the Hell is happening?’ so that Mellie wouldn’t feel so clueless, wouldn’t wonder what’s changed in the last couple of days, because something definitely  _ had  _ changed. Something between them was different, but Mellie couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was.

  
  


“Do you want dinner?” Olivia asked.

  
  


Mellie grabbed one of Olivia’s hands, the one that was now drawing lazy circles on her collarbone, “Can we skip dinner and just have ice cream instead?”

  
  


Olivia laughed, her voice low and incredibly close to Mellie’s ear, and Mellie’s cheeks were  _ burning _ . “Anything for you.” 

  
  


“Why, thank you.” Mellie moved out of Olivia’s grasp and let her get up, watching as she walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, her hips swinging back and forth, her hair messy and ruffled from laying down for so long.

  
  


As soon as she left Mellie’s eyesight, Mellie fell back onto the couch, a hand on her racing heart. She could still feel her skin on fire from Olivia’s touch, could still feel Olivia’s hands on her, could still feel her stomach doing back flips for seemingly no reason at all.

  
  


“ _ God _ .”

  
  


**where fitz makes a fun little visit.**

  
  


Mellie loved many things. She loved her children and the fact that she’d be in the Oval soon (hopefully), she loved making speeches and writing and the taste of fried chicken. But the one thing she was really, really enjoying, the one thing she enjoyed so much it was as if her heart swelled three times its size, was when she woke up in the arms of Olivia Pope.

 

The first thing Mellie felt when she woke up was a hand in her hair, gently massaging, and another hand on her stomach, rubbing smooth circles on bare flesh. 

 

For a split second Mellie thought she was naked, but then reality kicked and she realized she was, in fact, clothed, but that Olivia was resting one of her hand’s on her abdomen, where her shirt had rode up throughout the night. A shiver went up her body, and she heard Olivia’s low chuckle, “Good morning, Mellie.”

 

Her eyes still refusing to open for more than a second, Mellie mumbled a good morning, arching her head back into Olivia’s neck, “You’re so warm.” Mellie pulled the blankets closer over them, moving closer to Olivia.

 

Olivia laughed, “So are you.” She took her hand off of Mellie’s stomach and used it to push Mellie’s hair out of her face, “How’d you sleep?”

 

“Shhh,” Mellie groaned, “I’m still asleep, basically.” Olivia, who was wide awake, just chuckled.

 

(Olivia woke up about an hour ago, but she decided to stay in bed so as to not wake up Mellie--and maybe to bathe in the feeling of waking up to the woman she loved in her arms. She realized she was being flirty, extremely so, and that she might as well have a sign on her head flashing, ‘ _ PLEASE KISS ME,’  _ but it didn’t really seem as though Mellie minded. Really, Mellie was reciprocating just the same, which made the imaginary sign on her head flash even brighter.)

 

Mellie rested for a minute, her mind drifting yet again to the White House, and what would happen once (if) she made it there. She wanted Olivia with her, wanted it as much as the presidency itself, really, but she had no idea when to ask. It wasn’t a normal thing brought up in conversation, asking somebody to move in with you. Not as a  _ girlfriend _ , of course, but as a friend, which made it even harder to ask. Mellie wished she had more experience when it came to these things, but alas, she was utterly inexperienced. 

 

Olivia broke the silence, “I really like your hair.” She blurted randomly, picking up a lock of Mellie’s hair.

 

“That much is clear.” Mellie laughed, turning out of Olivia’s embrace and on her side so as it see her face. “You almost never stop touching it.”

 

Olivia smiled, and Mellie mirrored her grin. Olivia’s lipstick was a little smudged on the edges, and messy tangles of hair framed her face. Mellie couldn’t help but think of how pretty she looked, tired and still in bed and utterly, utterly beautiful. Mellie reached out to Olivia’s face, tucking a piece of Olivia’s hair behind her ear. “You look extremely pretty right now.” It was all she managed to say, and she wanted to regret it, to swallow the words back down and take them back, but she didn’t. 

 

Something flickered over Olivia’s face, a quick slide of emotion that Mellie couldn’t decipher. Olivia bit her lip and cupped Mellie’s cheek, rubbing a thumb across her cheekbone and to to the edge of her jaw, “So do you.” 

 

It was achingly, torturingly quiet for a moment, both of them still touching each other, both of them wanting to say something else but neither of them knowing what. 

 

“Mellie--” When Olivia finally found the courage to say something, she was interrupted by a hard knock on the door. 

 

Mellie let out a little laugh, “I’ll get it. You fix that smudged lipstick of yours.” She leaned down and kissed Olivia’s cheek before she could think of any excuse not to. Ignoring the dumb grin on Olivia’s face, she swung her legs out of bed, now completely awake, and padded out of the room. She could hear Olivia shuffle out of bed and go into the bathroom, and Mellie wondered who would be at Olivia’s apartment at--she checked the clock on the wall--7:30. It wouldn’t be anyone from OPA, they knew not to bother Liv this early. 

 

Mellie pulled down her T-Shirt and adjusted her shorts, patting down her hair and reaching the front door. She put on a smile and opened the door. “Fitz?” Her ex husband was standing on Olivia’s doorstep, his hands in his pockets and a dozen agents spread out behind him. 

 

“That’s me.” He smiled, “Good morning, Mellie. I was hoping you’d be here.” He tried to push past her into the apartment, but she put her arm out to block his way. 

 

“I don’t recall inviting you in. Why are you here?” Mellie was having a nice morning, and was planning to spend the rest of it as happy as she had felt when she woke up. She did  _ not  _ plan on dealing with her ex husband at the moment (she didn’t think she’d have to deal with him until tomorrow, when she had to pick up Teddy). 

 

“Why is who here?” Mellie heard Olivia call behind her. “Oh. Hi, Fitz.” Olivia walked up to the doorway, putting a hand on Mellie’s waist. 

 

Fitz’s eyes followed Olivia’s hands on Mellie, and he raised an eyebrow. “Good morning, Olivia. May I come in?”

 

“Sure.” Olivia guided Mellie out of the way, letting go of her waist and instead grabbing her hand. Fitz walked into the apartment, taking in the decor that he hadn’t seen in so long. Not a lot of things had changed since he’d last been here, but things had definitely been added. It was obvious that Mellie had been here frequently. Mellie’s dresses and Olivia’s blazers lay over the backs of chairs, pairs of heels littered the floor, and Fitz recognized one of Mellie’s favorite knitted blankets draped over the couch. He even saw a few of Teddy’s toys in the corner of the living room, and he couldn’t help but feel a quick stab of anger. 

  
  


(Fitz also noted all the new frames on the walls. There were pictures of Mellie and Olivia beaming at each other, at the camera, at Teddy and Karen. There were pictures of Mellie on stage, there was even a Mellie Grant poster on the wall.)

  
  


Fitz went to sit on the couch, but Olivia stopped him and gestured to the chair. As he grudgingly sat on the chair, Olivia sat down on the couch, Mellie joining her. Mellie didn’t notice, but Olivia looked Fitz directly in the eye as she grabbed Mellie’s hand with both of hers. Olivia did not like that Fitz was here. She did not like that he was looking at Mellie.  Olivia wanted to yell at him, tell him that Mellie was not his anymore, that she never was, and that Mellie was now at  _ her  _ house every night, cuddling her and calling her honey and practically dating her (not actually, but practically). 

  
  


Instead, however, she just grabbed Mellie’s hand and made a forceful attempt to be polite. “So why’d you drop by?” 

  
  


Fitz stared at them for a moment, at the way Olivia was clutching on to Mellie’s hand like a lifeline, the way Mellie was inching closer and closer to Olivia on the couch. He glared at them, not even bothering to hide his distaste, “I want you to hold an interview together that publicly denounces your relationship.” 

  
  


Mellie rolled her eyes, “We’ve already done that more than enough times, Fitz.” Mellie could not count the amount of interviews and phone calls and articles that had been released to assure the American people she was most definitely not sleeping with Olivia Pope (well, in a sexual way). 

  
  


“But you’ve never done it together, at least not on Lovers of Liberty.” At the women’s silence, he leaned back against the chair, content with the surprise he had made.

  
  


Olivia did not want to go on Lovers of Liberty. She had already done that enough times in her life, and she  _ especially  _ did not want to look Sally Langston in the eye and say, with a straight face, that she did not have any romantic feelings, not even an inkling of anything other than platonic, for Mellie. There were a lot of things wrong with that. For one, Sally was a master interviewer, and she would know with one look at Olivia that she was lying. 

  
  


And another, maybe more important reason was that Olivia was still hoping. She was still hoping that  _ something  _ would happen between her and Mellie, something that was the very opposite of platonic. Olivia was hoping that one of these nights Mellie would lean in, and Olivia would lean in just the same, and they would stop pretending (rather,  _ Olivia  _ would stop pretending). There was no way anything would happen between them if Mellie watched her as she denied any feelings, even if she did have them. 

  
  


“I don’t think that’s a great idea, Fitz.” Mellie tightened her grip on Olivia’s hands, surprising Olivia. She looked at Mellie, who was pointedly not looking at her, instead staring daggers at Fitz. 

  
  


“Of course you don’t,” Fitz sighed, putting his head in his hands, “Well, I’m tired of answering questions about my ex mistress and my ex wife.”

 

Olivia shook her head, “I don’t think we’ll be going on Lovers of Liberty.”

 

Fitz rubbed his chin, “Well, if you don’t, I’ll say that you two  _ are  _ together.” He flashed that infuriating, ridiculously victorious smile. 

 

The threat rang through the silence, “Well.” Mellie seemed to swallow down more words. “We’ll think about it.”

 

“Good.” Fitz stood up, not giving them another look before he traipsed out of the door. He was gone as quick as he came.

 

In his absence, Olivia and Mellie clutched each other’s hands even harder, and Olivia took a deep breath. “We have to do the interview, you know.” Mellie’s presidency was worth more than Olivia’s feelings, and she knew that, but it was hard to let them go, nevertheless. The irrational part of her wanted to say, ‘fuck it,’ and turn to Mellie right now and kiss her, weaving her hand through her hair and telling her everything. The irrational part of her wanted to have Mellie close, and close forever, too. She wanted Mellie to be the President of the United States, and Olivia wanted to be right there by her side, standing next to Mellie as she was sworn into office, to dance with her at the Inaugural Ball, to walk into the Oval to see Mellie sitting at the desk, to walk across the Seal and kiss Mellie. She wanted Mellie. And the very, very irrational part of Olivia wanted to demand why Mellie couldn’t be President and also be her girlfriend. 

 

Mellie sighed, resting her head on Olivia’s shoulder, “I know.”

 

For now, they would have to be Mellie Grant, presidential candidate, and Olivia Pope, her campaign manager. Nothing more, nothing less.

  
  


**where melody’s father calls.**

  
  


Olivia had scheduled Sally Langston’s interview for the upcoming Wednesday, three days after Fitz’s visit. The days leading up to the interview had been mostly damage control, due to the fact that America was waiting with baited breath for the alleged gay candidate to appear on Lovers of Liberty with her alleged girlfriend. The interview was swirling around social media, labeled as the Lovers of (Gay) Liberty interview.

 

Mellie was sitting at the OPA conference table, the office deserted. Quinn, Huck, and Marcus were off on some sort of ‘mission,’ and Olivia had left a couple minutes ago to talk to a reporter. 

 

“I gotta go, babe.” Olivia had said, kissing her on the cheek, “Try to relax, maybe take a nap? You look tired.” Mellie had nodded, standing up abruptly to hug her before she left. She didn’t feel like sleeping, though, so Mellie just sat at the conference table, wondering how long she’d have to wait until Olivia came back. 

 

Suddenly Mellie’s phone rang, and she jumped in her chair. She shuffled around in her purse and finally found her phone. On the screen flashed ‘Dad,’ and Mellie swallowed hard. She accepted the call, pressing the phone up to her ear, “Hello?”

 

“Melody.” Her father’s voice, deep and condescending, still had a certain effect, still made her feel like a little girl getting reprimanded for leaving her shoes in the foyer. “You’ve been avoiding my calls.”

 

Mellie stood up and started pacing, looking out the big windows of OPA, “I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what you had to say.”

 

“That’s not very nice of you. I’m your father.” He acted hurt, but she knew he wasn’t. “I wanted to talk to you about Olivia Pope.”

 

She knew this was coming, which was precisely why she wanted to avoid his calls. Olivia and her were untouchable, they were long nights and wide smiles and kisses on the cheek, and she did  _ not  _ want her father ruining that. “Of course you want to talk about her.”

 

“I thought we decided that you like men, darling.” He said, his voice terribly sweet and loving.

 

Mellie’s face burned, “I think it was you that decided that,  _ Daddy _ .” He hated when she called him that, he thought it made her childish.

 

He sighed, “Melody.”

 

“It’s Mellie now.”

 

“I know that very well, they never call you Melody on TV. Your actual name.” That is precisely why she never called herself Melody, precisely why she didn’t let  _ anybody  _ call her Melody. Her father did not like the woman that was Mellie. She wasn’t sure he liked the woman that was Melody, either. “Anyways, we agreed that you would not follow those foolish tendencies of liking women.”

 

(When Mellie was in the first grade, she had an immense crush on a girl named Sam. She always had cute blonde braids and pretty, flowered dresses, and Mellie would sit on the swings with her during recess. One day, when Sam kissed her on the cheek, she told her father that she was in love. Her mother told her father to ‘handle  _ this _ ,’ and oh, did he. He told her that little girls liked little boys, not other little girls,  and that she was not to talk to Sam. Afraid of her father’s cold stare and her mother’s refusal to talk to her for the next three days, Mellie didn’t talk to Sam again.

 

However, she forgot about this pact to herself when Sam was in her Government class when she was 17. Sam didn’t have the pretty braids anymore, but long, curly hair, and instead of pretty, flowered dresses she wore ripped jeans and a leather jacket. They had paired up together for a project, working at Sam’s house instead of Mellie’s, for obvious reasons. Sam kissed her, over and over and over again, for about seven months. They were Mellie and Sam, together and happy, but Sam’s mother caught them making out one night and called Mellie’s father, who ran into Sam’s house and dragged her away. That night, he threatened to kick her out, and said that she was to be straight and happy about it, or he’d ruin her life.)

 

“Well, Olivia and I are just friends, so there’s no reason to fret.” Mellie hated herself for not lashing out at him, not telling him that even if they were together it was none of his business, and she was not a 17 year old girl anymore, but the upcoming President of his country. She wanted to  _ scream  _ that he was going to have to get used to Olivia, because Olivia was going to be with her for the next eight years, hopefully, and whenever he saw Mellie on screen, he was going to see Olivia, too. She didn’t say these things, though.

 

“Let’s hope it stays that way, darling. Your mother--”

 

“She is  _ not my mother _ .” Mellie snarled, “I don’t care what she wants.”

 

Her father sighed, and she could see him grabbing onto the bridge of his nose, disapproving of her all the way from North Carolina. “Goodbye, Melody. I look forward to watching your interview with Sally Langston. I always liked her.”

 

He hung up before she could respond. Of course he liked Sally. She killed her gay husband.

  
  


**where lovers of gay liberty comes into play.**

  
  


Olivia felt an intense sense of deja vu, standing on the set of Lovers of Liberty, surrounded by cameramen and crew members--and a yelling Sally Langston. The only thing different about this interview prep was that Mellie was right there next to her, wanting to reach out and grab her hand just as much as Olivia wanted to grab Mellie’s. 

  
  


They had made an unspoken agreement to touch each other at all during this interview, and Olivia hadn’t realized how hard this would be. Until about 20 minutes ago, she never noticed how much they actually did rely on each other comfort. When she saw that Mellie was upset, her jaw tightening and her features pulled taut, Olivia would always reach out and grab her hand or even put a hand on the small of Mellie’s back, just to say a silent ‘I’m here.’ And Mellie would always do the same for her. They were both definitely stressed right now, but they couldn’t touch each other, and it was hell. 

  
  


In addition to this, Olivia was trying very hard not to stare at Mellie. Mellie had arrived on set and immediately blew Olivia away with her outfit. “You’re wearing red lipstick.” Olivia had said, her eyes flicking all along Mellie’s body, not sure whether to stare at her lipstick or the tight black dress clinging to every curve on her body. Olivia had to physically shake her head to tear her gaze away. 

  
  


So there they were, wanting to stare and to touch and, in Olivia’s case, kiss very hard and deep and strong. And soon enough, it was time for the interview to start. They shuffled onto the stage, sitting on the cream couch and waiting for the camera to roll. Sally was not making eye contact, instead staring at the papers in her hand. All of a sudden, Mellie patted Olivia’s hand and gave her a reassuring smile. 

  
  


“We’re live in 3..2..1!”

  
  


Sally turned to the camera, a small smile gracing her face, “Good morning, lovers of liberty. Today is the interview we have all been waiting for, the interview between girlfriends Mellie Grant and Olivia Pope. I know that I can’t wait to see what these lovers have to say.” She smiled at the pair, who were smiling with equal hatred as Sally held for them. “Good morning.”

  
  


“Good morning, Sally,” They chorused back. Mellie had the urge to grab Olivia’s hand on public television and give Sally the most scathing look she could muster. 

  
  


“So,” Sally began, “A lot has happened since our last interview, Olivia. Mellie here seems to be at your apartment almost every day of the week. What do you have to say about that?”

  
  


Olivia nodded her head, “Well, Sally, it’s true that Mellie does come over a lot, but for very plausible reasons. I am her campaign manager, after all, it’s only normal for her to come over so we can get some actual work done.”

  
  


“But just because I’m over her apartment doesn’t mean we’re together. If that’s how we’re defining relationships nowadays, then we need to take a better look at not only whose house  _ I’m _ entering, but the other candidates.” Mellie added with a little smirk. 

  
  


Sally chuckled, “I was only asking, Senator. No need to be on the defense.”

  
  


“Then don’t give me reason to be defensive.” Sally and Mellie stared each other down, and Olivia held her breath, a little apprehensive to be between the two. She was glad she wasn’t Sally. Olivia  _ certainly  _ didn’t want to be on the end of Mellie’s red-lipped, blue-eyed glare.

  
  


Sally broke eye contact and looked at Olivia, “President Grant has denied comment on this relationship of yours. What do you have to say about that?”

  
  


“He has nothing to comment on, because we’re not in a relationship. The President knows this, as should you, Sally, and everyone else.” Olivia looked towards Mellie.

  
  


Mellie nodded at Olivia’s comment, “Right. We’ve denied our relationship enough times for you to know that it’s not happening. However, we do appreciate all the support Olivia and I have garnered from the LGBT community. Even though I’m not gay myself, I will work just as hard to ensure the rights of the LGBT community just as much as if I was.”

  
  


Sally raised her eyebrows, “That’s quite a statement, Senator.”

  
  


Mellie nodded, “I believe that we should all be held in the same standards, and that we should not be discriminated against for something we can’t change. As I’ve stated in earlier interviews, if I am in office I will strengthen and protect the already existing human rights laws, create new ones, and one of my main focuses is strengthening the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for the LGBT community--”

  
  


“All due respect, Senator, but this is not a ‘Vote Mellie Grant’ interview. This interview is for you and Olivia, regarding your relationship.”

  
  


Olivia scoffed, “What does it say for the campaign if we’re only talking about a relationship that doesn’t exist, rather than the important things?” 

  
  


“I’m sorry, Olivia, I thought it important to know whether I’m electing a gay president or not.” Sally glared. 

  
  


Mellie smoothed down her dress, “What do you think is going to happen if there’s a gay President? Do you think I’ll replace the American flag with a Pride flag? Do you think I’ll paint the White House rainbow, or ban heterosexual marriage? I am not ‘heterophobic,’ because there is no such thing. A gay President would not be a crime, Sally.”

  
  


Sally was quiet for a moment, and then smirked, “And you’re not gay?”

  
  


“No, I’m not.”

  
  


Sally looked at Olivia, who was staring daggers at her, and then back at Mellie, who looked as suave as ever. “Sure.”

  
  


**where they can finally comfort each other.**

  
  


As soon as the interview was over, Mellie and Olivia bolted to their cars and made a beeline to Olivia’s apartment. Mellie didn’t care if Sally would make another comment, or if a newspaper printed that she was there, or if her own damn father showed up on Olivia’s doorstep, she was going to spend the night with Olivia Carolyn Pope and absolutely no one in the world could stop her. And if she got a speeding ticket for trying to get there so fast, then so be it.

 

As soon as they reached the apartment, they practically collapsed into each other, hands gripping tight and Olivia finding Mellie’s hair and lower back. They weren’t crying, just holding on tight enough to stop the tears. “Liv--” Mellie didn’t even know what she was going to say, but Olivia stopped her with a finger shushing Mellie.

 

“Let’s dance.” Olivia put her arms around Mellie’s shoulders, Mellie’s arms instinctively going around her waist. She kicked off her heels, and Mellie followed suit. 

 

“What? Why?” Mellie was confused but went along with it anyway, swaying back and forth like they were middle schoolers at the formal.

 

Olivia pulled Mellie closer (now they were high school prom close, too intimate to be considered middle school), “Because you look extremely pretty in that red lipstick and that dress,” She smiled up at Mellie’s surprised eyes, “And I don’t give a damn what Sally Langston thinks.” 

 

Mellie smiled, a blush making its way across her cheeks, “You look pretty, too.” And she did, with tight black pants and blazer, her hair curled to perfection, soft pink lipstick on smiling lips. Olivia twirled her, reveling in Mellie’s grin.

 

And there they were, dancing barefoot in Olivia’s apartment. Mellie rested her head on Olivia’s shoulder and wondered how beautiful it would be to dance like this on the White House Seal, in the Oval, running the world at each other’s side. And even if they couldn’t dance in the White House, Mellie would dance every night in Olivia’s apartment. As long as Olivia was there--that was all that mattered. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A HUGE SHOUTOUT TO PASTILLAS FOR COMMENTING SUCH AMAZING AND SWEET THINGS, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. Your comments have fueled this chapter SO MUCH.
> 
> More shootouts to every commenter on my story… I wish I could explain how amazing every comment and read and Kudos makes me feel, and every single one makes me smile. I wish I could recognize and personally thank every single one of you. I know this is a slow burn, and it’s killing me as much as it’s killing you. We’re getting there (soon enough). 
> 
> Again, thank you all so much! I hope you like this chapter. xoxox

**where quinn eggs on liv’s love even more.**

  
  


When the members of Olivia Pope & Associates packed up for the day, Olivia had a spur of the moment idea to go to the grocery store. Mellie was coming over for dinner tomorrow (and probably sleeping over, who was she kidding), and Olivia wanted to stock up on all of Mellie’s favorite things. Chocolate ice cream, sour cream and onion chips, pancake mix, and anything else she saw in the store that would have the slightest possibility of making Mellie smile.

 

Quinn saw the look in Olivia’s eyes when she said where she was going, volunteering to join her, “I’m guessing Mellie has something to do with this whole excursion, so I am definitely coming.”

 

So there they were, in the first aisle of the grocery store and already $50.00 deep. “Hey, Liv, maybe ease up a bit? I’m sure Mellie doesn’t need seven bags of sour cream and onion chips.” Quinn stood there uneasily as Olivia loaded bag after bag into the cart.

 

“I’m sorry, have you ever seen Mellie eat these?” Olivia looked at the bags for a moment, and then put a few back anyway, “You’re right, though. Three will do.” They walked through the aisles in silence for awhile, Olivia picking things randomly off the shelves and putting them into the car with a ‘Oh, she loves these!’ or ‘Mellie’s going to be so happy, oh my god.’ 

 

After Olivia freaked out about a bag of mozzarella sticks, Quinn decided to speak up, “So why aren’t you two kissing yet? I’m confused. She definitely 100% likes you, and you like her more than humanly possible, so what’s the deal?” It was obvious to anyone who even  _ looked _ at them interacting that Mellie liked Olivia in a way that was the  _ opposite  _ of platonic. Mellie in general was a touchy-feely person, always putting hands on shoulders or leaning in a bit more than a normal person, but with Liv she was intensely touchy. She never took her hands off Olivia.  _ Never.  _ In some way, whether it be just a hand on the back or hand in hand or ankles crossed, Mellie always held contact with Olivia. 

 

“Wel, Quinn, she’s running for president, so that’s the obvious reason. And it’s not fair of me to ruin a dream of hers that she’s had for forever, especially for my gain.” Olivia’s smile faded, and she tentatively reached out for a bag of chocolate chip cookies. “And she may not even like me back. I don’t want to ruin our friendship. There’s so many reasons, Quinn.”

 

Quinn rolled her eyes, “‘She might not like me back?’ We aren’t in middle school, Liv. Just kiss her, I almost guarantee she’ll kiss you back. All of our texts can attone to that.” Olivia smiled, thinking about her and Quinn’s texts. Whenever something that could be taken as an advancement in her and Mellie’s relationship transpired, Olivia would send Quinn a frantic text.

 

( _ “Oh my god she just called me honey.” “I JUST CALLED HER BABE!” “I think I’ve kissed her on the cheek about a million times in the last day.” “I just came home to her in our bed. Sorry, my bed. Our bed? I’m not sure nowadays.” “Quinn don’t look now, but do you see Mellie’s dress? Is that legal?” “HER LIPSTICK OMG.” “I’m actually freaking out Marcus just looked at her should I do something?” “It’s frustrating because I want to kiss her yet I can’t.”) _

 

Olivia shook her head, “I’m not going to kiss her.”

 

“Well,  _ she’s _ certainly not going to kiss you.” 

 

Olivia furrowed her brow, “But you just said she liked me…” She shook her head, “I’m confused.”

 

“You’ve met Mellie, she’s very stubborn and has absolutely no game. None. Zero. Even if she was hopelessly in love with you--which she totally is, by the way--she would have no idea how to approach you about it.” Quinn watched as Olivia floundered in indecision. 

 

She rubbed her forehead, “God, I know you’re right, but I can’t imagine myself actually doing it.” Quinn raised her eyebrows, and Olivia backtracked, “That’s not what I meant. Obviously I can imagine it, I  _ do _ imagine it, but... I don’t know. It’s not going to work.”

 

Quinn groaned, “Man, and here I was thinking I almost convinced you.” She grabbed a bag of cinnamon raisin bagels off the shelf, “She likes these.”

 

“Yeah,” Olivia agreed, her mind still in a faraway place, filled with blue eyes and beautiful brown hair and red lips, “She does.” She put the bag in the carriage and wondered how she would do it, kiss Mellie. There were so many times she could kiss her, perhaps when laying on the couch, their lips literally inches from each other, or in their bed, pressed up tight and Olivia’s hands tangled in Mellie’s hair, Mellie’s hands fastened around her waist. Or maybe when Mellie stood in her bathroom, curlers in her hair and only a T-shirt on. Olivia could sneak up behind her and spin her around and look in her in the eyes eyes, and then they’d both lean in and kiss and it would be  _ wonderful _ . It would be everything. She could even show up at Mellie’s door with all of these groceries tonight and kiss her, and Karen and Teddy would clap in the background like a movie. That would be nice.

 

But she would never do it, not for a very long time, at least. For now, she would just let the obscene amount of flirting continue, let Mellie sleep in her bed, let Mellie cook her dinner and kiss her on the cheek or on the nose (because she loved to do that), let Mellie dance with her with twinkling eyes and a bright smile. She’d let Mellie do whatever she wanted, and maybe, one day, Mellie would want Olivia to kiss those beautiful lips of hers, and keep kissing them, all the way to the White House and back.

 

Olivia would wait. And if she never got what she wanted, then at least she had Mellie and her blue eyes and beautiful hair and red lips. 

  
  


**where mellie tries her very best not to be gay.**

  
  


Both Karen and Teddy had gone to bed (or at least, Karen had pretended to), and Mellie had the rest of her night to sit on her bed and walk around the house and eat mindlessly and pretend to clean when clearly all she was doing was thinking about Olivia. Thinking everything and anything about Olivia, too much about Olivia. For example, how beautiful Olivia looked when she smiled, her eyes twinkling and teeth shining, and how she’d pull Mellie in by the waist and look at her for a little too long and sometimes her eyes would travel to her lips--

 

Mellie knocked into the coffee table, her hip hitting right at the corner. She swore under her breath and grasped her hip, shaking her head at herself. With shaky hands she traveled to the kitchen and filled a glass of water, letting it slide down her throat and calm her nerves. 

 

She wanted to call Olivia. Really, really wanted to call her and hear her voice, the way it changed tone whenever Olivia was with her. Mellie knew that Olivia would answer before three rings and say, “Hi, Mel!” Or she’d call her babe, and then she’d say, “Is everything alright?” because she was constantly worried Mellie would accidentally walk off a cliff or something. It was endearing and it made her smile every time. Mellie looked at the clock--11:300. Was it too late to call? She decided that, yes, it was, and she didn’t even know what she’d say if she  _ did  _ call. 

  
  


Again, her mind drifted to the White House, and asking Olivia to move in with her. There were a million times where the question was in her throat, ready to be asked, but then Olivia would do something like kiss her on the cheek or tell her she looked beautiful or hug her, and Mellie didn’t want to ruin the moment or the relationship they’ve built. If she asked Olivia and she were to say no, Mellie knew she’d be crushed, and she didn’t want to set herself up for that rejection, especially from Olivia. But,  _ god, _ she wanted Olivia to be there with her. When she closed her eyes, she saw herself being sworn into office, Olivia by her side. She saw herself dancing with Olivia at the Inaugural Ball, sweeping across the floor in their beautiful dresses as Fitz watched sulkily from the sidelines. She saw herself sitting in the Oval, Olivia striding in and perching on the edge of Mellie’s desk. They’d talk and hold hands and run the country together. Mellie Grant would be President of the United States, and Olivia could be whoever she wanted to be. (Anything at all.)

 

Again, her mind drifted to Fitz replacing her if Olivia didn’t  _ want _ to move in. She saw herself being sworn into office, but no one was standing next to her. She saw herself at the Inaugural Ball, but she was dancing with Senators that didn’t care about her, and she wasn’t paying attention to anything else but Olivia and  _ Fitz _ sweeping across the floor, him whispering in her ear, Liv laughing and giving him a small, reserved smile. Olivia was not striding into the Oval and talking to Mellie. Olivia wasn’t there at all. Instead, she was at OPA, curled up on the couch in her office with Fitz, promising dinner and wine and cuddling. Fitz and Olivia would leave for home, and when they were there they bought Gettysburger--no freedom fries, even, just onion rings. They’d dance in the living room, feeling carefree and happy. Olivia would pull him close and they’d be  _ together  _ and it made Mellie sick to her stomach. It made her ball up her fists and she wanted to throw her glass of water across the damn room because there was no way she was going to sit in that big white house while Olivia and Fitz were  _ making out _ . 

 

Again, her mind drifted to Fitz himself, his smirk and his scotch and his stupid sense of self righteousness. Mellie could  _ feel  _ those years with him on her chest like an anvil, pushing and tapering her lungs down. She could hear him yelling at her, yelling and yelling because she wasn’t good enough, because she wasn’t going to sit there and look pretty when she had a law degree and some self respect. She could hear herself yelling back, telling him exactly what she thought about his self righteousness, about his scotch, about his little smirk. She could hear herself yelling back, yelling because he loved someone else, and why did no one loved her? What was so special about Olivia Pope that he couldn’t keep his vows?

 

Before she could stop herself, Mellie grabbed her cellphone from the kitchen table and dialed the number she knew by heart.

  
  


The phone rang exactly three times, “Mel! Is everything alright?” Olivia’s voice brought Mellie out of her thoughts of Fitz, of disappointment, of rejection, and brought her back to a safe level, a safe place.

 

“Hi, Liv.” Mellie gripped her phone with both hands and sat down on a kitchen stool, “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

 

Olivia seemed to pause for a moment, contemplating if something was actually, legitimately wrong. “Oh. Well, I’m here. Are you sure everything’s fine?”

 

“I’m sure.” Mellie took a breath, “I miss you.” She felt pathetic, calling Olivia this late at night when nothing was wrong, just for the fact that she missed her, that she couldn’t stop thinking about her, that things were dreadful without her and she wanted Olivia right next to her and  _ why  _ wasn’t she right next to her?

 

She imagined Olivia’s smile, “I miss you, too. Are you still coming over for dinner tomorrow?” 

 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”   


 

Olivia chuckled, “Well, good.”

 

Mellie could feel herself missing Olivia with every breath, like an actual ache in her lungs that wouldn’t go away. Olivia was right here with her on the phone, but she was so far away, separated by traffic and cars and buildings and walls and so much more. “Can I ask you for a huge favor?”

 

“Of course.” Olivia answered without a beat.

 

Mellie was already heading up the stairs, making her way into her bedroom. “This is weird, I know it’s weird.”

 

Olivia laughed, immediately putting a dumb grin on Mellie’s face. She squeezed her eyes shut and imagined Olivia laughing--was she in her bedroom?--her eyes screwed up and head tipped back. “Babe, what is it?”

 

“Would you mind staying on the phone as I fall asleep?” Mellie rushed the words out. She was sitting on the edge of her bed at this point, biting her lip so hard she tasted blood. Wiping it off with the back of her hand, she was met with silence on the other line. “I’m sorry, that was too weird, I--”

 

“Mellie, shush. Yes.” Olivia’s voice was quieter now.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Yes, I’ll stay on the phone with you. I’d love to. Let me get ready for bed, though, so we’ll fall asleep as if we’re together. Can I call you back in a couple of minutes?” Olivia asked, and Mellie agreed. Once they hung up, Mellie sprung into action. She threw on her pajamas and wiped off her makeup as fast as possible, her smile refusing to fade as much as she tried to make it go away. This was so stupid, it was as if they were a middle school couple, it was ridiculous. But she couldn’t help herself from smiling and thinking of Olivia on the other side of D.C., smiling just as bright. Olivia, who wanted it to seem as though they were sleeping together. Olivia, who probably didn’t think this was stupid at all.

 

Mellie opened a window, letting the breeze make its way into her room and cool everything down (maybe it would cool her burning cheeks). She crawled into bed and shut the lamp off beside her, her heart racing inside her chest. Mellie was repeating,  _ This is so dumb, this is so dumb, this is so dumb _ in her mind like a mantra, but she didn’t really believe it. Really, it was the best idea she’d ever had.

 

Her phone rang, a picture of her and Olivia sitting at the OPA conference table, huddled around a cluster of papers and folders but looking at each other with bright smiles. She accepted the call before it could finish its first ring. “Hi, lovely.”

 

“Hi, darling.” Mellie heard a rustling of sheets on the other line, “ You ready for bed?”

  
  


She didn’t think she’d be ready for bed even if she tried to slow her heart, “Mhm.” She lay her head on the pillow and drew the blankets tightly around her, pretending the duvet was Liv’s arms, that the wind outside her window was Liv’s breath.

 

“Goodnight, Mellie.”

 

“Goodnight, Olivia.”

 

If Mellie closed her eyes tight enough, and listened to Olivia’s even breathing on the phone, she could almost pretend they were together.

  
  


**where mellie is a clumsy as always.**

  
  


Olivia was used to getting calls from Karen Grant. They were surprisingly close--at least Mellie thought it surprising, considering their personalities and the fact that Olivia slept with her father. But Karen liked Olivia, and she’d call her all the time, whether it be to invite her over for dinner or ask if something happened between them because ‘Mom looks happier than usual,’ or even just to say hello. 

 

So when Karen called her around noon, Olivia just assumed it would be to invite her over for lunch. It was a Sunday after all, and today would be just Karen and Mellie. Sometimes they’d have a girls day, watching movies and eating popcorn.

 

(One time, the three of them went to see a replay of  _ Romeo and Juliet _ . They bought extra large popcorns and ice creams, and they had the whole theatre to themselves. Olivia felt strangely happy, squished in between Mellie and Karen, watching a movie and eating popcorn. It felt like family--maybe even a future, if she was being honest.)

  
  


“Hi, Karen. What’s up?” Olivia was sitting at the OPA conference table, finishing up a report she was working on for Mellie.

 

“Uh, hi, Liv. Don’t freak out, okay?” Karen sounded a little uneasy, and Olivia immediately disregarded her warning and started freaking out a little bit,.

 

“Is something wrong? Are you okay? Where are you?” Olivia was already standing up and looking around for her purse.

 

Karen didn’t respond at first, “Well, Mom wanted me to wait to call you, but--”

 

“Karen, you’re seriously worrying me. What is happening?” Olivia’s heart was beating in her chest, and Quinn was looking at her with, worried.

 

“Well, Mom’s in the hospital--” The words were like buckets of ice water poured over Olivia’s head, and she interrupted Karen.

 

“ _ What?  _ Oh my god, is she okay?” Olivia dashed into her office to grab her coat.

 

Karen sighed, “Olivia, please let me finish. She’s in the hospital with a concussion, nothing serious, the doctors are dismissing her soon.”

 

Olivia ignored a worried Quinn and ran down the office, pressing the lift button furiously. “Is she okay?” 

  
  


The fact that it was only a concussion was doing nothing to calm Olivia’s nerves (Concussions could be really bad, right? She had no medical knowledge, why didn’t she have any insight on this?), and Karen obviously knew this, so she tried to calm her down, “She’s fine, Liv.”

 

“I’ll be there in, like, five minutes, maximum.” Olivia stayed on the phone the whole ride to the hospital, and listened intently as Karen gave some explanation of the injury. Apparently, Mellie was walking down the stairs and tripped, falling down and hitting her head on the floor. That wasn’t the worst part, though. The fall made her a little dizzy, so when she was walking into the kitchen she tripped  _ again _ , this time hitting her head  _ hard  _ on the corner of the coffee table. At this point, there was blood all down the side of her face, but Mellie refused to go to the hospital. However, an hour later she threw up everywhere and couldn’t see out of one eye, so Karen drove them to the hospital. The doctors had to give some quick stitches, and they said she had a concussion, but she’d be fine in a couple days. 

 

“Doctor Adams said she can leave in a half hour, just so they can make sure she doesn’t pass out from the stitches.” Karen explained as Olivia pulled into the hospital, half running out of her car and into the lobby. 

 

“I’ll be there soon, I just pulled in.” Olivia hung up the phone and went through customs, soon enough half running, half walking down the corridor until she found the right room. Her hand on the doorknob, she took a deep breath, preparing herself from the worst.

 

Everything was not covered in Mellie’s blood, fortunately. Olivia was met with a smiling Mellie as she walked into the room, “Hi, Liv.” She said quietly, outstretching her arms so that Olivia would come closer. Olivia obliged, but tentatively--part of her was afraid that if she even touched Mellie, she’d fall apart. The lights were turned off and Mellie was sitting on a couch, apparently fine after the stitches. You couldn’t really tell, the tips of the them just reaching below her hairline, but a huge purple bruise covered the entire top left of her head. 

 

Olivia tried not to rush forward into Mellie’s arms and start crying, instead pulling Mellie into a tentative hug, trying to push all her emotions out with soft arms around her neck. “I was so worried,” Olivia pulled back and saw the bruise even closer than before, dark purple and blotchy, and then a tear finally fell. “Are you okay?” 

 

Mellie looked at her with a little smirk, “I’m fine, lovely.” She wiped away the tears that Olivia failed to keep in, “Please don’t cry. I’m okay, I promise.”

 

“Are you sure?” Olivia knew she was being foolish, but Mellie looked so fragile and  _ god _ , she was still beautiful, and  _ god _ , Olivia was in deep. What kind of woman falls down the stairs and then falls  _ again _ and then  _ refuses  _ to go to the hospital until she’s almost dead (practically)? Mellie Grant, that’s who. And it just made Olivia love her even more.

  
  


“I’m sure.” Olivia sat down next to her on the couch, grabbing one of her hands. Mellie grabbed the back of her head and pressed their foreheads together--lightly, so as not to hurt her bruise. It was intimate, and Olivia’s breath stopped for a moment, staring right into Mellie’s blue, blue eyes. “I swear, I’m fine. I just need some rest.”

  
  


“How the Hell did you manage to fall  _ twice _ ? Do I need to take away your heels?” Olivia joked, her heart finally slowing down. Mellie was okay. She was bruised, and concussed, and clumsy as hell, but she was okay. 

  
  


Mellie laughed lightly, her movements a little slow and her voice still very quiet, “You wouldn’t dare.”

  
  


“Oh, I would.” Olivia pulled back and smoothed down Mellie’s hair, careful to avoid the wound, “My clumsy lady.” Mellie smiled and rested her head on Olivia’s shoulder. She wasn’t going to tell Olivia, but her head was pounding and even the light streaming through the window hurt her eyes and her brain. The entire left side of her face and all along her scalp seemed to be on fire, and she was still having trouble seeing out of her left eye. Karen had to leave for school tonight, so her friend picked her up after she had called Olivia, and Mellie was all alone and was scared and didn’t want the cameras showing up and killing her head more than it already was. Thankfully, no one called the reporters and they patched her up without cameras flashing everywhere. But what she really wanted, out of everything, was Olivia, and now she was here, holding her and smoothing her hair and making sure everything was okay. 

  
  


The doctor knocked on the door and came in after a second. Mellie lifted her head off of Olivia’s shoulder, but Olivia kept a firm grip on Mellie, her hand around Mellie’s waist and holding her with the other. “How are we feeling about the stitches?” He asked her.

  
  


“Good. Sore, but good.” Mellie smiled as he looked at the bruising on her face.

  
  


He nodded, “You sure are a trooper. Two blows to the head in quick succession and only some bruising and a cut. List everything that’s hurting, feels odd, etcetera.”

  
  


Mellie  _ wanted _ to say that she was feeling Olivia’s arms around her waist, and that she really just wanted to be held by Olivia, not be here, and that Olivia was very worried and it was very endearing. She didn’t say that, however. “Dizzy. I’m dizzy. And my head is throbbing right,” she pointed to the bruising, “there. And I feel like my body is stuffed with cotton.” 

  
  


Olivia seemed horrified by this list of symptoms, her eyes wide and mouth open, but the doctor was unfazed. “Yeah, well, it should feel like that for a bit, but with rest it will go away. How about your sight? That left eye still fuzzy?”

  
  


“Mhm. It’s all,” She waved her hands around her, not seeming to find the right words.

  
  


The doctor frowned, “Try to stay away from bright lights, loud noises, the works. If the eye doesn’t clear up in about two days, come back, okay?”

  
  


Mellie nodded. Olivia’s jaw dropped, wondering how they were all being so suave about all of this when the love of her life was sitting here with minor bruising on her brain and couldn’t even see out of her left eye. How dare that doctor sit there and act like she’s okay when she’s  _ clearly  _ not okay, she said it felt like her body was stuffed with  _ cotton  _ for god's sakes. 

  
  


“Well, Mrs. Grant, it seems you’re free to go. Be careful of anything physically or mentally straining, and here’s a list of what you should avoid,” Olivia grabbed the paper out of his hand, skimming through it quickly, “You won’t want to be alone, you need someone to wake you up every two hours or so if you’re still showing symptoms before going to bed, which you probably will be.” 

  
  


“Oh,” Mellie bit her lip, “Karen just went home, I don’t really have anyone to--”

  
  


“Don’t be silly, Mel, I’ll do it.” Olivia was surprised Mellie even doubted that. If she thought Olivia was going to leave Mellie out of her sight until she was completely better, she thought wrong. 

  
  


The doctor nodded, “Alright, Miss Pope. You’ll have to wake her up every two hours when she’s sleeping, just to be safe. Make sure she’s not stressing herself out or working too much.” Olivia nodded and he looked at Mellie, “I know you have a campaign going, but a few days off is ideal.”

  
  


“I have a dinner in four days, should I be fine by then?” The two of them were invited to Fitz’s little White House dinner he was holding, and Mellie absolutely couldn’t miss it. It would make her seem extremely petty in Fitz’s eyes, and this was supposed to be a dinner that showed the American people her and Olivia weren’t dating. Plus, his threat of saying they  _ were  _ dating still loomed over their heads like a dark cloud, and Mellie didn’t need to fuel that anxiety.

  
  


He nodded, “As long as you follow all the instructions and get lots of rest, you should be okay for it.”

  
  


Olivia stood up and shook the doctor's hand, “Thank you so much, Doctor,” She looked at his name tag, “Adams.”

  
  


“Anything for Mrs. Grant.” He beamed at Mellie, and Mellie politely smiled back, “I’m voting for you.”

  
  


**where liv is literally the wife mellie’s never had.**

  
  


As soon as they got home, Mellie collapsed onto Liv’s couch, her head pounding after the drive home. There had been cameras outside of the hospital, and as soon as they left the main doors they were hounded by hordes of cameramen, asking if she had terminal diseases, if she was dying, if she was dropping out of the race. Olivia had to calmly explain that no, it’s just a concussion, but the best thing Senator Grant needs right now is quiet and rest, so please get out of our way. The traffic seemed even worse than normal, and by the time they got home Olivia’s phone was blowing up with Mellie Grant news alerts, all of them saying that she had some sort of terminal brain damage, little actually saying that she had a minor concussion.

 

While Mellie lay on the couch with her arms over her eyes, Olivia went around the apartment and shut all the curtains, bustling about so that everything would be suitable for Mellie. As per Mellie’s request, she got out some Tylenol, a glass of water, and a bowl of chocolate ice cream. When those were all served to Mellie, Olivia stripped the guest bed of all the blankets and set up a little bed on the couch so Mellie didn’t have to stay in the bedroom the whole time.

 

“Don’t fuss, Liv, I’m fine.” Mellie smirked as Olivia ran around the apartment fetching things for her. When Liv didn’t stop, Mellie stood up and grabbed Olivia’s shoulder, “Olivia.”

 

“Sit  _ down. _ ” Olivia gasped.

 

Mellie rolled her eyes--not wincing for effect, “I’m fine, hon. Calm down. It’s a concussion.”

 

“Literally half of your face is purple.” Olivia led Mellie back to the couch and into the bed of blankets, “Just humor me. Lay down and relax. Please.”

 

Mellie wrung her hands, feeling horrible about this entire situation. It was nice that Liv was worried but she didn’t want her to be  _ that  _ worried, and about  _ her _ , no less. “Liv, I know you’re going to think I’m crazy--”

 

“I probably will.”

 

“Shut up.” Mellie smiled, leaning against a stack of pillow Olivia had set up behind her. “But I’m sorry that you have to do all this, I know you have work, and probably don’t want to spend a Sunday night doing all this, and I know we had dinner plans, and we can still have dinner, but I know it won’t be the same and I’m sorry about that.” At Olivia’s appalled gaze, Mellie continued, “You don’t care though, obviously.”

 

Olivia agreed, “No, I don’t. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.” She cupped Mellie’s cheek with her hand, rubbing her thumb across the swollen skin, “Eat your ice cream.”

 

Mellie spooned tiny bites of ice cream into her mouth and watched as Olivia continued to clean the apartment and busy herself. Her mind wandered to last night, the silence on the phone as she drifted to sleep. Olivia had been there, in a way, breathing evenly and rolling around in her bed, and it was comforting. Mellie always slept best when she was Olivia, and when she wasn’t with her, it was all she thought about.

 

Tonight was supposed to be their special dinner, and she knew Olivia was looking forward to it. It’s all Liv had been talking about yesterday, and Mellie had ruined it. Mellie ate her ice cream grumpily, trying to distract herself with the sight of Olivia doting on her. 

 

After a couple of minutes, Olivia sat down next to Mellie on the couch. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Fine.” Mellie immediately leaned into Olivia. Olivia adjusted herself so that Mellie could lay on her comfortably without irritating her head.

 

Olivia linked their hands together, her other weaving through Mellie’s hair. “Does it hurt when I play with you hair?”

 

Mellie chuckled, “No, I like it. It’s soothing.” Mellie closed her eyes for a moment and let herself  _ be  _ with Olivia, her pounding head and tiredness and the fact that she was just in the hospital and was allowed to be clingy being her excuse. Just once, Mellie wanted to forget that she was running for President, and that soon enough she would either live with Olivia or fade out of Olivia’s life. She wanted to forget that maybe they weren’t supposed to be doing this, laying so close and depending so much on each other, that maybe they weren’t supposed to call each other babe or kiss each other on the cheek, and maybe Mellie wasn’t supposed to dream of a future with Olivia. She wanted to forget these maybe’s, throw them to the wind so she wouldn’t have to worry about this. Right now, it was just her and Olivia, no one else, and nothing else. 

 

Mellie wanted to say something, something meaningful, because the things in her mind at the moment were not light and carefree. They were heavy and dark and life changing, they were dark eyes and deep laughter and sleeping on the phone. They were happy smiles and lingering looks and dancing at 3AM.

 

Olivia, however, beat her to the punch, “Mel…” Words seemed to catch in her throat, and Mellie turned around to look at her. Olivia’s eyes held something, some sort of secret that Mellie desperately wanted to unravel. 

 

“Yeah?” 

 

Olivia reached her hand up to Mellie’s cheek, her thumb rubbing large, lazy circles from the top to the bottom of her bruise. Her eyes roamed Mellie’s face, across the bruise and her stitches and then her eyes, resting there for a minute. Mellie tried to say something, but the silence was stifling and the way Olivia was looking at her was too  _ much _ , and it made any words stick in her throat. Olivia’s eyes traveled down, settling on her lips. Mellie was holding her breath, waiting for something, anything. She would take anything. Olivia dragged her gaze back up to Mellie’s eyes. “Do--do you want some ice? For your head?”

 

The moment unraveled, and Mellie’s chest deflated. She nodded, and Olivia left the room, practically jumping off the couch and running into the kitchen. Watching Olivia leave, Mellie finally felt her heart beating against her ribcage, wild and frantic. 

  
  


Oh, god, they were on a precipice, and she was falling, falling, falling. 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, Chapter Nine is here! Sorry for the late update (is it late? idk), but this chapter is almost double the amount I normally write, so hopefully it makes up for the wait. (I think the content will also make you very pleased, but who am I to predict that.)
> 
> A huge thanks to pastillas and Cole, who’s comments make writing that more rewarding. Of course, I appreciate and adore all the reviews and reads and Kudos I receive, so thank you all so much. I know I say this a lot, but the support I have gotten from this story has been such a blessing—I love you all just as much as Mellie and Liv love each other!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! xoxox

**where sick mellie gets some wifely comforting.**

 

Mellie did not enjoy having a concussion. What she did enjoy, however, was the fact that Olivia hardly left her side, darting around to fetch her whatever delicious food crossed her mind (she was stocked up with all of Mellie’s favorite snacks, somehow), propping up pillows behind her, giving her light massages every once in awhile. Mellie’s favorite thing, though, was Olivia’s spontaneous signs of affection.

           

 

Olivia kept coming up behind her and kissing her shoulder, or rounding the couch and putting both hands on either side of Mellie’s torso, leaning in to kiss her on the nose. She’d brush Mellie’s hair behind her ear and trace the lines down Mellie’s face, and every time it took Mellie’s breath away, and every time she tried to pretend that it didn’t. But then Olivia would lean down and kiss her on the nose again, and Mellie would forget about pretending. Kissing it better seemed to be Olivia’s go to method--Mellie couldn’t really say that she minded.

           

 

(It had been two days since her little visit to the hospital, and Olivia had only left the apartment for twenty minutes to grab milk for Mellie’s cereal, rushing back as quick as possible to make sure Mellie was okay. “I’m not going to collapse, Liv, I’m _fine_.” Mellie had assured, even though they both saw her eyes squint when the curtains opened, or her hand gently massaging her temples when she thought Olivia wasn’t looking. It was because of these secret displays of pain that Olivia refused to leave--she knew Mellie was not one to show pain unless it was extreme, and even then it was rare. And there was no way in Hell Olivia was leaving her to go to work and stress herself out so she actually _did_ collapse.

           

 

And plus, she quite enjoyed doting on Mellie. And she knew Mellie loved it just as much.)

           

 

Right now, Olivia delivered her a buttered bagel, a proud little smile on her face. “And here you are.” Mellie took the plate from her and set it down, grabbing Olivia’s hands instead. She pulled Olivia down onto the couch beside her and put her feet in Olivia’s lap, enjoying the little smile that graced Olivia’s face.

           

 

“Thank you.” She then reached for her bagel, also grabbing a couple prep question essays from the table beside her. When she began studying the first one, taking a large bite out of the first bagel, she heard a gasp beside her.

           

 

Olivia snatched the articles from Mellie’s hands, waving away a full-mouthed, frustrated Mellie, “You aren’t supposed to be reading right now, it’s mental strain.”

           

 

“It’s been two days! The doctor said I could start work.” Mellie argued, swallowing her bagel. She stole the papers back.

           

 

Olivia took them again, swatting away Mellie’s hands, “He said start working _slowly_. You already made two phone calls to your office today. I’m starting to think you like your assistant more than me.”

           

 

Mellie groaned, leaning into Olivia’s chest. “You know I like you more than Amber.”

           

 

“Don’t tell _her_ that.” Olivia smiled, grabbing one of Mellie’s hands. “I know you hate being cooped up like this, but--”

           

 

“You’re right, I do. I’m running for President, Liv, I need to _do_ something.” Mellie knew that she wasn’t going to win this argument against Olivia. They’ve had this same squabble about a million times in this past hour, let alone the past couple of days. If there was anything Mellie hated, it was being bored, and if there was anything Olivia hated, it was Mellie not taking care of herself.

 

 

(Especially when the doctor _specifically_ said to start work again slowly, not all at once, which was what Mellie was doing. Maybe Mellie could have gotten away with disregarding doctor’s orders when Fitz didn’t give a shit about her, but now that she was...with Olivia, and someone _did_ give a shit about her, she was going to take care herself. And Mellie knew it, which was why they kept going round and round.)

 

 

Olivia climbed out of their embrace so that she was facing Mellie, “But you have a concussion.” Mellie rolled her eyes. “You can go out and be President when you learn how to walk down stairs in heels.”

 

 

Mellie laughed, “Sure. And for the record, I _had_ a concussion. It’s going away.”

 

 

“Yet you’re still dizzy every time you stand up, and your left eye only just started seeing clearly again.” Olivia shook her head, “You’re not winning this battle, Mel.”

 

 

Mellie harrumphed, leaning against the couch, “Ugh, I know.” Mellie then looked up at Olivia, her frustrated look turning into a soft one, “At least I get to stay here with you.”

 

 

At the beginning of their relationship, Olivia tried not let herself smile too much, because Mellie was still a little tentative around her and she didn’t want to expose herself too much. But now, she let her smile shine brightly through, and she leaned in and brought Mellie into a tight hug--careful to avoid her head, because she didn’t need more of an injured Mellie than there already was. “And you know I’d much rather be with you than with anyone else.”

 

 

(At this point, Olivia’s subtlety was hardly there, if at all. She didn’t necessarily care.)

 

 

“How do you seem to have every food I ask for, Liv?” Quinn had told her exactly what her and Olivia were doing at the store for so long, but Mellie thought it was so funny and endearing that she wanted to hear it herself, asking her with an innocent little smile.

 

 

Olivia bit her lip and blushed, but went with it anyway, “I went to the grocery store with Quinn to get all your favorite foods.”

 

 

“Maybe I’ll get concussions more often, if this is how I’m treated.” Mellie joked, but Olivia’s face turned serious.

 

 

“You do know that frequent concussions can lead to serious brain--”

 

 

“Shut up.” Mellie interrupted her, and for a moment she faltered, because a wonderful way of shutting Olivia’s pretty pink mouth up would be to lean down and kiss her senseless. Of course, that wasn’t what she _wanted_ to do, but it was where her mind wandered, and Mellie spaced out for a second, wondering what exactly would happen if she just started kissing Olivia, right then. Would Olivia kiss her back? Why did she care?

 

 

And why did Olivia look like she was thinking the _very_ same thing?

 

 

**where mellie gets another wonderful call from her dear father.**

 

 

Apparently they ran out of chocolate ice cream, so Olivia volunteered to make an extremely quick trip to the corner store, much to Mellie’s arguments. “You don’t need to buy me more ice cream, I’ve had enough.” She protested as Olivia grabbed her purse,

 

 

Olivia dipped down to brush Mellie’s hair to the side, “Mellie Grant, you know very well you can never have too much ice cream.” She kissed Mellie’s forehead with a little laugh, running out the door with finality. Mellie was left to her own devices, and eyed the prep papers with a pout. Olivia wasn’t here, so she could get away with it, but she could hear Olivia’s scolding voice in her mind. Mellie scoffed at the papers and turned away, busying herself with the corner of a knitted blanket that Olivia had draped over her before she left for the store.

 

 

The shrill sound of her phone ringing jolted her, and Mellie grabbed the phone off of the coffee table, not even bothering to look at the contact name before answering. “Hello?”

 

 

“Aren’t the concussed supposed to stay away from phones, Melody?” Her father’s voice sounded through the receiver, sending a flood of emotions through Mellie’s head. Immediately, she felt a pounding in her left temple, and her hand massaged it furiously.

           

 

“Then why did you call?” Mellie sighed, wondering whether it was a blessing or not that Olivia was out of the apartment. On one hand, Olivia couldn’t see her break down a little bit, but on the other hand, she wasn’t there to wrap her strong arms around her and tell her everything’s going to be okay, and that was really what she needed at the moment.

           

 

Her father mirrored the sigh, “I was hoping Miss Pope would pick up.”

           

 

“And why is that?” Olivia and Mellie’s father had never talked personally, which Mellie thought was just fine. She wanted her father far, far away from Olivia, far away from someone that she cared for, platonic or not.

           

 

“Well, Melody--”

           

 

“Mellie. It’s Mellie.” She interrupted.

           

 

He grunted, and she could picture that disappointed face clear as day, “ _Melody_. I just wanted to say hello.”

           

 

“ _Sure_ you did.” Mellie scoffed, “Were you going to give her some homophobic pep talks too? Or is that a thing you only do specifically for me?” She was being bitter and inappropriate, and she knew this was going to blow up in her face in about two seconds, but her head was throbbing too painfully for her to give a shit.

           

 

“ _Melody_ , I am your _father_. You are not permitted to speak that way to me.” He gasped.

           

 

She scoffed, “Oh, please, Daddy. I’m an adult. I’m going to become _President_. If anything, you aren’t allowed to speak to _me_ that way.” Mellie didn’t think she was openly this snarky to her father for a couple of years, and oh, did it feel good.

           

 

“Well,” He took a shaky breath, and she could picture his face red with anger, his upper lip trembling, his fists clenching. And he could do _nothing_ about it but say pointless things over the phone. For once, she held the power. “Let’s see how rebellious you’re feeling this Sunday.”

           

 

Her blood ran cold, desperately hoping that she wasn’t actually hearing what she was hearing. “This Sunday?”

           

 

Her father gave a characteristically cold laugh, and she knew that her short term victory was already gone, “Yes, Melody. This Sunday. The President’s Dinner. I was invited by the President himself.”

 

 

“Fitz invited you?” That bastard, oh, he was getting a _nasty_ phone call as soon as this one was over. Fitz knew exactly what an asshole her father was, but alas, Fitz was an even bigger one.

           

 

“Oh, yes he did. Of course, your mother and sister wanted to come, but only one invitation was extended. They were very displeased, you might want to talk about that to your ex husband.” He said the last word bitterly, like a sour taste in his mouth. Apparently trying to become president did not outweigh the fact that his (not so beloved) daughter was divorced, gay, and an overall mess. Mellie was practically shaking with anger and anxiety and an overwhelming mix of emotions. She was so upset that the fact that she didn’t have to see her stepmother or stepsister didn’t even make her smile.

           

 

Before she could respond, the apartment door opened with a jingling of keys and a “I’m home, and I’ve brought ice cream!”

           

 

“Is that Olivia?” Her father snarled, “Give the phone to her.”

           

 

Olivia noticed as soon as she walked in that something was terribly wrong, and that Mellie was on the brink of tears, her phone pressed tightly to her ear and her other hand gripping her head. Olivia started to run towards her, dropping the bag on the floor, but Mellie waved her off and leapt off the couch.  

           

 

“I’m hanging up now.” She heaved, trying hard not to notice Olivia’s hand outstretched towards her.

           

 

Mellie went to end the call, but her father said one last thing, “I’ll see you Sunday, Melody. Oh, and take it easy on the ice cream, dear. You seemed a little pudgy when I saw you last on the television.”

           

 

She hung up the phone and threw it onto the couch, pacing out of the room and into the kitchen before Olivia could catch up with her. Mellie leaned against the kitchen counter as her world tilted on its axis, and she had no idea whether it was because of the concussion or the fact that she was going to have to face her father and Fitz and every other judgmental homophobic politician of the century all at once, all in one room, with Olivia. She balled up her fists and pressed them into her eyes until she saw stars, trying to focus on her feeling of her own two feet on the ground and the sound of Olivia’s feet coming closer and closer to her.

           

 

“Was that your dad?” Olivia decided to rest a hand on Mellie’s back. When she didn’t move away, Olivia kept it there, a light touch until she knew it was okay.

           

 

(Olivia did not know much about Mellie’s father. When she was running Fitz’s campaign, she was asked specifically by both Fitz and Mellie to stay away from her family. Not because they were bad people, they both stressed, Mellie’s family was very respectable, a wealthy North Carolina family that didn’t partake in politics but instead business. They thought it best, however, if they didn’t make Mellie’s family a big focus, or a focus at all--or even brought up, if possible.

           

 

That was all Olivia knew about Mellie’s father until they started getting close, and once Mellie opened up, Olivia realized why. She had seen, personally, Mellie burst into tears after phone calls with her father. She had seen Mellie break down in a way like no other, a different kind of break than any other pain she went through. All Mellie told her was that her father never really liked her, didn’t like her at all. Only when she was the First Lady, and even then not very much.

           

 

It was only when Olivia figured out Mellie was gay when she uncovered some of the real pieces. Mellie had told her that she wasn’t “allowed” to be gay, and that it almost got her kicked out one time when she was seventeen. That was all Olivia knew, other than the fact that Mellie’s father was one of the most sensitive topics Mellie had. They didn’t talk about it ever, as in _ever_.)

           

 

Mellie nodded, “Fitz invited him to the dinner.” Mellie was still trying very, very hard not to cry, but was hardly succeeding. Tears were slipping no matter how hard she dug the heels of her palms into her eyes.

           

 

Olivia drew a quick breath, “Oh.”

           

 

“Oh.” Mellie repeated, finally standing up and turning towards Olivia. Her eyes were rimmed red, and her skin was all of a sudden very pale. “I’m dizzy.”

           

 

Olivia immediately wrapped an arm around Mellie’s waist and led her to the living room couch, but Mellie leapt around her arms and bolted towards the bathroom. Olivia ran after her and ended up holding Mellie’s hair back as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She rubbed small circles on Mellie’s back, waiting for Mellie to finish and calm down.

           

 

“He’s going to ruin _everything_.” Mellie turned around and keeled over, sobbing into Olivia’s arms--which Olivia had quickly put around her as soon as Mellie looked at her. Mellie’s father was going to ruin everything her and Olivia had. The late nights, the happy smiles, the pecks on the cheek and the long hugs and the feeling like maybe things were going to be okay. He was going to ruin it all, because that’s what her father did: he took the things she loved and he crushed them because it was all he knew how to do. He was going show up with his pretentious smirk and shaking hands and tell Mellie all the things she had been hearing since she was a child, and she was going to give up, because she didn’t have the fight in her to raise another finger, and especially in front of the country. Her father was going public, and with his new fame he would tear her to shreds. Why the _hell_ did Fitz invite him?

           

 

Olivia helped the still sobbing Mellie stand up and unravel in her arms as they went into their bedroom. Olivia had seen Mellie break down, yes, but it was almost never this bad. It was never these uncontrollable, wild sobs that tore through Olivia’s chest as she held Mellie close. It was never Mellie clawing at the blankets in an effort to control herself, but failing. It was never Mellie losing every ounce of sanity she had left. It was never Mellie breaking completely.

           

 

And as Olivia let a few tears fall herself, she wondered what Sunday had in store for Mellie, and if she’d even get through it at all.

 

 

**where they have to get ready for the night that may ruin everything.**

 

 

Mellie could think of a billion excuses of why she shouldn’t attend the dinner: Her father was going to be there, Fitz was going to be there, she still felt dizzy every time she stood up, Doctor Adams told her it wasn’t wise after a phone call, and she didn’t really think she’d survive it. However, the fact that her not going would be a public disaster was a bit more important than her mental sanity, so here she was, standing in front of a floor length mirror with Olivia and primping herself for what was sure to be a fantastic night. .

           

 

Their makeup artist has just left the room, polishing their hair and makeup even though there was nothing to perfect anymore (there was only so much one can do to cover an intensely purple bruise). The two of them were primped and ready and prepared to walk into a lion’s den full of senators and presidents and very homophobic fathers.

           

 

Olivia was wearing a beautiful gold gown, the material glimmering with every turn. Mellie couldn’t help but follow Olivia’s every move, because blatantly staring was not a huge problem of hers at the moment. “You look really beautiful, Liv.” Mellie wasn’t even denying that Olivia was the only thing keeping her upright at the moment. She wanted to fall to the ground and never get up, just lay there and let the world go around without her. The election would go to Vargas, her father would go back to North Carolina where he belonged, and Olivia would lay with her. Maybe they would hold hands and just lay together for the rest of their lives, lay and talk and breath together until they took their last breath.

           

 

Of course, they couldn't do that, so Mellie had to settle for Olivia’s warm gaze and dark red lipstick, and the feeling of Olivia pulling her into a tight hug, careful of her head like always. “Not as beautiful as you.” Olivia cradled Mellie to her chest, and Mellie marveled that somehow the planets aligned just right so that she could be held by Olivia Pope at that moment.

           

 

“Liar.” She whispered, half as a joke and half a serious accusation because how could she be prettier, or anything _more_ than Olivia Pope? “Tonight’s going to be Hell. I’m not ready.” She hadn’t seen her father yet, and knowing he was literally a mile away was like a drill in her heart, digging deeper and deeper until it hit her lungs and she couldn’t breathe. Mellie knew she wouldn’t break down when she saw him because of their surroundings and her wonderful composure in front of the public, but it certainly wouldn't be fun.

           

 

“I know, but I’ll be there the whole time. Or not, if you don’t want me tied to your hip the entire time. Whatever you want.” Olivia twirled Mellie’s freshly curled hair around her finger.

           

 

“Tied to my hip sounds like the preferable option.” Mellie answered, because perhaps Olivia and a glass of champagne would get her through the night. She didn’t have the promise of a nice night cuddled up in Olivia’s bed because cameramen would inevitably be following her home tonight, and they didn’t want another ‘Mellie Grant Sleeps Over Girlfriend Olivia Pope’s Apartment’ article.

           

 

Over the past two days waiting for the dinner, Mellie’s concussion had gotten progressively better, but not as much as Doctor Adams felt comfortable with. This dinner was considered too much of a physical and mental strain what with Mellie’s concussion according to the doctor, and he had advised Mellie not to go. She had to, of course, but after throwing up more than what was healthy the last couple of days, Mellie was in a constant state of queasiness. The makeup artist tried her best to cover up Mellie’s recent paleness and sunken eyes, but it wasn’t particularly working. Noticing this, Olivia rubbed the edge of Mellie’s concealer covered bruise, “How are you feeling? Are you dizzy?”

           

 

Mellie nodded, “A bit. It’s probably just the stress, I’m fine though.”

           

 

“Do you want to just stay over my house tonight?”

           

 

“Liv.” Mellie laughed at Olivia’s attempts to make her stay when they both knew it just wasn’t an option that night.

Olivia spun out of Mellie’s embrace, “Do you want a neck massage?”

 

 

“Oh, would you?” Olivia immediately complied, laying strong hands on Mellie’s neck, and Mellie leaned into her touch, “You are by far my favorite person, Liv.”

 

 

Olivia laughed, “Good. You are by far _my_ favorite person.”

 

 

“You’re only saying that because I said that.”

 

 

“Certainly not true.” Olivia kissed Mellie’s shoulder on impulse, “You beat everyone else, no contest.”

 

 

Before the dinner, they had agreed that it was best to act as though they weren’t as close as they were, for the sake of Mellie and for Mellie’s father. Mellie was wondering just how excruciating it would be to stand next to her father all night (because she knew he wouldn’t leave her side as soon as they said hi) without being able to hold Olivia’s hand, or to have Olivia’s fingers ghost across her back, leading the way. She couldn’t imagine smiling as if everything was totally okay if Olivia couldn’t whisper something in her ear, or put an arm around her shoulders while they were sitting. After a couple minutes of Olivia demonstrating her wonderful masseuse skills and Mellie appreciating them greatly, Mellie smoothed down her dress and turned towards Olivia. “Fuck it.”

 

 

“What?” Olivia blanched, her eyes focused on Mellie’s wild ones.

 

 

Mellie shrugged, “I know we said we were going to act like normal people and not touch each other constantly, but I’m going to disregard that.” She reached out and grabbed Olivia’s hand with defiant eyes. “So. Fuck it.”

 

 

Olivia laughed and pulled Mellie in by the waist, thoroughly enjoying that she now got to hold Mellie all night and that Mellie was completely okay with that. “Alright, then. Fuck it.”

 

 

**where fitz’s dinner is the worst thing in the entire world.**

 

 

When Mellie first spotted her father, dressed tastefully in a tux and his polished shoes and engrossed in conversations probably revolving around his business, she was gripping Olivia’s hand like a lifeline. She expected to drop it, but instead she held onto Olivia’s hand even tighter, her eyes trained directly on her father. “That’s him.” Mellie nodded her head so that Olivia could identify him, and she nodded thoughtfully.

           

 

“I hate him already.” And she really did, the way he was holding a glass of champagne and laughing carefully, almost as if he didn’t care that he had made his daughter act the way she did, cry the way she did, suffer the way she did. He was talking to the Junior Senator of North Carolina, and somehow his pretentiousness rolled off of him in waves, but it drew everyone around him like moths to a light. Olivia turned to Mellie, who was visibly shaking and clearly trying hard to hide it, “Are you okay?”

           

 

Mellie nodded, “I’m fine.”

           

 

“Should we go and talk to him?” Olivia squeezed Mellie’s hand. They were still in a doorway, and no one had really noticed them yet. She realized that they could just leave now, before anyone saw them. They could go back to Olivia’s apartment and order a pizza and watch a movie. The wouldn’t have to deal with any of these people, or Mellie’s father. They wouldn’t have to act different than normal, smile too much, pretend they were enjoying themselves immensely.

           

 

“No, let’s mingle a bit.” And with that, Mellie launched them into a room, saying hi and complimenting people as she went, her grace and sweetness hiding the fear she was ultimately keeping inside. Olivia often marveled how Mellie did this, act as if everything was okay when everything was clearly _not_ okay, running the world like it was her own personal stage. She was a powerful woman, Mellie Grant, and Olivia had the honor of holding her hand as she swept across the room.

           

 

There was a tap on her shoulder, and Olivia spun around to see Fitz standing with a little smirk. “Hi, Liv.”

           

 

Mellie heard the voice and immediately shot him a scathing glare, “What the hell were you thinking when you invited him?”

           

 

“Ah, I thought this might come up.” He smiled and put a hand on Mellie’s shoulder, “He always did rile you up.”

           

 

Olivia wanted to strangle Fitz and Mellie’s father and everyone looking at them all at once, but all she did was hold Mellie’s hand tighter. Mellie looked around them to make sure no one was close enough to hear, and whispered, “You’re a dick, Fitz. An asshole. The biggest bastard on the planet. Congratulations.” She said it all with a beaming smile, so that if anybody looked on it would be as if she was telling Fitz the best news possible. And she wasn’t scared at all, yelling at Fitz instead of pretending that everything was alright between them.

 

 

Mellie was no one when she was with Fitz. _Before_ Fitz, she was a bright student at Harvard Law, top of her class, a woman with a life before her, unfettered by the constraints of ridiculous power hungry politicians and sitting in rooms with pretty dresses while she let her life, her sanity, slip away. During Fitz, she was nothing, a woman held on by strands of self respect and happiness, going through the motions because that was all she knew how to do anymore. She was an empty shell of the woman she used to be, the woman she wanted to be. She was a mother and a wife and the First Lady of the United States, but she was _empty_ and _sad_ and she didn’t want to be _alive_ , much less the First Lady and the wife who would let her husband scamper away to unzip his pants for some other woman that obviously had more mental sanity than she. Oh, but now, _now_ she was not in that damn White House, _now_ she didn’t have to sit still and smile for the cameras whilst her husband set the world ablaze. Now, she was lighting the fire herself, looking down at Fitz as she pictured herself in the Oval. Now, she was not First Lady, _now_ she would be President herself.

 

 

After Fitz, she was not a shell. She was free, like a balloon set from a child’s hand, flying into the sky and into space. And she thought it would be lonely, but it wasn’t, because there was another balloon tied to her, and that balloon was Olivia. And Olivia and her…oh, they had left Fitz in the dust, and he was back on land as they soared above. So, after Fitz, Mellie was more than just a person again. She was happy. And now, she wasn’t going to take anything that Fitz threw at her. Now, she was strong, and she knew she could take whatever he had in mind, whatever scathing words he had stored in that puny little mind of his. She could yell and name call as much as she wanted, because whatever he did in retaliation, Mellie would fight back twice as hard.

 

 

Fitz’s face turned cold, “Well, if you want to have a ‘who’s more of an asshole’ contest, I’d be happy to--”

 

 

“Melody!” Mellie felt a strong hand on her shoulder, turning her around, and soon she was engulfed in the arms of what could only be her father. She remembered this embrace, the smell of pine overshadowed by too much cologne, the underlying scent of cigarettes. She remembered the way it felt too formal and not sincere at all, like a hug you’d give a coworker on their birthday when you didn’t much care for them at all. And it was familiar to feel his coarse hands just lightly tapping her back, the feeling like her throat was closing up, the shortness of breath and the wanting it to end as soon as possible.

 

 

She pulled out of his arms, “Dad.” She gave him a polite smile, but he wasn’t looking at her anymore. Instead, his eyes were staring holes into the hand Olivia had resting on the small of Mellie’s back.

 

 

“And Miss Pope’s here too.” His frown was displayed for all to see, and people _were_ watching. Everyone’s heads were turned to the father-daughter reunion of the year, because it was known to anyone who knew Mellie that her father didn’t participate much in the politics of his daughter. He didn’t even publicly support her candidacy. Mr. Chase was a mystery, a mystery that had a very prominent frown, staring down at Mellie and Olivia with that memorable disappointment.

 

 

Mellie didn’t look at Olivia, couldn’t bear to, but she did see Fitz’s face--a mixture of discomfort and wild eyes. Olivia’s hand retreated from her back, but before she could fully step away Mellie stepped closer, bridging the gap between them. “Yes, this is Olivia. Olivia, this is my father.”

           

 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Chase.” Olivia stuck her hand out with a smile, even though what she really wanted to do was take him aside right then and tell him what an absolute horrible person he was, and maybe purposefully spill a drink on him, probably something a little more violent, though.

           

 

He looked pointedly at her outstretched hand and ignored it, instead looking back at Mellie, “The President has put us all at the same table. Wasn’t that nice of him? It’s a shame you two are divorced.” He smiled brightly, but his eyes were staring daggers at Mellie.

           

 

“Personally, I don’t think it’s a shame at all.” Mellie swiveled to look at Fitz, ignoring her father’s little dig at her. Beside her, Olivia was barely keeping up a smile, wanting instead to leap forward and throttle Mr. Chase. Mellie continued, “The only shame is that Fitz has our poor children cooped up in their rooms tonight.”

           

 

“Well, he can decide what to do with them, it is his day. You know, because you two are divorced.” Her father brought up again, clasping his hands together, “When’s dinner, Mr. President?” He looked at Mellie for a moment, his eyes cold and calculating, and then walked away, a hand on Fitz’s shoulder.

           

 

Mellie let out a breath that she’d been holding. Olivia immediately led her into a corner of the room, away from clusters of people. “That wasn’t so bad.” Mellie’s eyes darted around the room to reassess where her father was, finding him standing in a group of men, all of them laughing heartily with glasses of champagne.

           

 

Olivia raised an eyebrow, “You’re saying you expected something worse?” Olivia thought everything her father said was borderline inappropriate, and she wondered what Mellie was expecting if that was just a minor conversation.

           

 

“Well, yes, I was expecting to say _something_ about our relationship. All he did was refuse you a handshake.” She grabbed Olivia’s hand, “Sorry about that, by the way.”

           

 

Olivia shook her head, “No worries.”

           

 

In truth, Mellie expected her father to smack Olivia’s hand right off of Mellie. She expected him to drag her out of the room and yell at her about Olivia, to ask what she was eating for dinner and then tell her to eat something different, to go on a homophobic rant in front of the entire room. He was extremely civil, though, only making comments about her divorce. Mellie wondered if he’d stay as civil throughout dinner.

           

 

All of a sudden, a wave of dizziness fell over Mellie, and she tilted to the side. Olivia grabbed onto her shoulders and tilted her head up to see her eyes. “Mel? You okay?”

           

 

“Yeah, I just got a little dizzy for a second of there.” Mellie felt the familiar roll of her stomach, the nausea climbing up her throat, and wiped off a bead of sweat from her brow, “I’m going to go throw up now. Bye.”

           

 

“Do you want me to come?” Olivia volunteered as Mellie walked away.

           

 

Mellie shook her head, “No.” She ran off out into the hallway, finding the closest bathroom in the corridor. She ran into a stall and locked the door behind her, holding her hair back and throwing up into the toilet. God damn it, she shouldn’t have come tonight. Dinner hadn’t even started yet and she was dreading every moment she had left to spend here, she was already throwing up, and things were not going well, not going well at all.

           

 

As the toilet was flushing, she heard someone come into the bathroom, so she composed herself and exited the stall. Her composure completely unraveled, though, when she saw that it was her father standing in front of her. “What are you doing in here?” This was so typical of him, showing up in a women's bathroom just to yell at her.

           

 

He clasped his hands in front of him, “I wanted to talk to you about Miss Pope. You two were being awfully inappropriate out there.”

           

 

She rolled her eyes, making her way to the sink to wash her hands. “Inappropriate how, Dad?”

           

 

“Well, for one, neither of you would take your hands off each other the entire time. What is _wrong_ with you, Melody?” His face quickly grew angry and red, “I raised you to be better than this.”

           

 

The words stung, and she tried to push back the nausea that was again building up, “Nothing is wrong with me. And it wasn’t as if we were groping each other. We were holding hands.”

           

 

He scoffed, “Melody, why didn’t you show up tonight with a date? A _male_ date? It would have been great for publicity, maybe it would outweigh all the negative feedback you’re receiving because of Olivia.”

           

 

“Dad, this is insane. Did you really barge into the women’s bathroom to tell me I should get it on with a man?” Mellie’s cheeks burned, and she wondered if she could just get out of this conversation by pushing past him out of the bathroom. He’d probably stand in front of the door and block her. He’d push her if necessary, he’d done it before when she stormed out of a room during an argument. So she stayed put.

           

 

“Oh, _I’m_ the one being insane? You’re the one throwing up in the bathrooms and walking around with your arms around a woman!” He yelled, stepping closer to her and waving his fingers, “Again, what is _wrong_ with you? You better not be going home with her!” He yelled.

           

 

“I’m not. But even if I am, it’s none of your business.” Mellie said cooly, determined not to lose her calm. Her father’s chest heaved in front of her, and Mellie remembered so many times just like this. Times where she wasn’t good enough, and she disappointed him, and he would stand in front of her with a shaking finger and an angry red face, yelling at her so loud that spit would fly out of his mouth like some character from a book. Mellie would always stand there--always standing, because he believed someone should be standing when yelled at--and take whatever he said, occasionally retorting with something snarky. The only thing missing was her mother standing to the side, her arms crossed and looking just as angry as her father was.

           

 

He seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he stepped even closer. “Do you remember Sam?” He smiled when it had the desired effect, Mellie immediately looking angrier.

           

 

“Of course I do. You showed up at her house and practically dragged me into the car when you found us making out.” Mellie seethed.

           

 

His face grew even angrier, as if he knew what happened but didn’t want to hear it, believe that it had happened. “Do you remember what I said when we got home?”

           

 

Mellie did, and remembered it clearly. “You told me that if I ever was with another girl that I wasn’t welcome in the family anymore.” He said this among other things, such as that she was a vile, disgusting person, and that she deserved to be kicked out on the streets, but he didn’t kick her out because it would hurt her mother. He said that she was to never speak to Sam again, that she was to never have a girl over, or go to a girl’s house, or to do really anything with the opposite sex that he could prevent.

           

 

“Exactly. Keep that in mind, Melody, when you walk around with your hands glued to Olivia Pope.” He stated calmly, but with finality. She wanted to laugh in his ridiculous face and tell him all about Carol, about her college girlfriend, whom she had sex with multiple times, probably more than she’d done with Fitz in the majority of marriage. Carol, who had recently threatened her with this information, but who used to love her very dearly. She wanted to tell him that his threats meant nothing to her now, now that she had a family and a home and a job, and that she wasn’t in high school anymore. Mellie had her own life, a life without her father in it, where he was not the driving force.

           

 

Mellie didn’t say any of these things, though. She waited until her father seemed to get his point across, his eyes boring holes into her for another minute or two. “See you at dinner.” He said with finality, exiting the bathroom and slamming the door behind him.

 

 

**where something very pivotal happens to mellie.**

 

 

They did not, in fact, have dinner with Mellie’s father. The Junior North Carolina Senator wanted Mr. Chase at his table, and who was Mellie’s father to say no to his home state’s politicians, rather than sit with his daughter, whom he hadn’t seen in a year or so. North Carolina beckoned, so he went.

           

 

Mellie couldn’t say she was all that disappointed, really. She got to enjoy a dinner with Olivia, and the rest of the people at their table didn’t pay much attention to them. Mellie was prepared to get a salad so that her father wouldn’t ridicule her, but she ended up getting a steak, because what the Hell, he wasn’t there to tell her that she was already fat enough, and that she shouldn’t eat that, and “Melody, please stop eating. It’s horrid.” So she enjoyed her steak and did eat some of her salad anyway, and Olivia smiled the entire time, her lipstick eventually wearing off a bit, but she looked beautiful all the same.

           

 

Mellie hadn’t told Olivia about her conversation with her father in the bathroom, not yet. It was a story that she’d probably need a few glasses of wine and a nice comfortable spot in their bed to tell, so she saved it for another day.

           

 

In another stroke of good luck they were able to leave the dinner without saying goodbye to Mr. Chase. He was still occupied with the North Carolina politicians, and Mellie thought it best not to interrupt him (she knew enough from past experiences not to interrupt her father when he was talking with other adults). Olivia volunteered to drive Mellie home, because even after the food Mellie still looked troublingly pale, and it would work out better that way.

 

 

“At least he didn’t sit with us.” Olivia broke the silence, trying to comfort Mellie in anyway possible.

 

 

“Yeah.” Was all Mellie said. She was replaying the conversation from the bathroom over and over in head, the way her father was looking at her, the threats he gave.   _Keep that in mind, Melody, when you walk around with your hands glued to Olivia Pope._ Mellie stole a glance at Olivia, who was tapping her fingers restlessly on the steering wheel, her golden dress still flickering under the traffic lights. “Olivia.”

 

 

Olivia looked over at Mellie for a second, taken aback by how intense she looked. It reminded her of all those wide, open looks from the White House, the ones Mellie would give before she ran out of a room with her hands on her chest. “Yes?”

 

 

“Thank you for being here tonight.” Mellie wanted to say more, but she wasn’t sure what.   _Keep that in mind, Melody, when you walk around with your hands glued to Olivia Pope._ She looked away from Olivia’s face and back out the window, “I appreciate it.”

           

 

Soon enough, too soon, they were at Mellie’s house, empty and menacing. Mellie reluctantly climbed out of the car, Olivia following suit. Olivia ran around the car and grabbed Mellie’s hand as they walked up the cobblestone pathway, their heels clacking respectfully and Mellie staring at Olivia as Olivia stared straightforward. She really was beautiful, with her high cheekbones and that pretty gold dress, and Mellie wished they didn’t have to part. She wished Olivia could just come inside with her and put on some pajamas, cuddle and talk and hold each other tight enough that Mellie would forget everything that happened tonight.

           

 

They couldn’t do that, though, so when they reached her front door, they had to say goodbye. They were holding each other’s hands, staring at each other, and Mellie couldn’t help but feel like she was being dropped off after a date. Olivia brought her hand up to Mellie’s cheek and rubbed her thumb under the bruise. Mellie overlapped her hand with Olivia’s and leaned into the touch. Her legs moved forward before she could stop them and soon enough she was in Olivia’s embrace. “Don’t go.”

           

 

“You know I have to.” And she did, but Mellie wanted nothing more than to stay in Olivia Pope’s arms for the rest of her life.

           

 

“I know.” They stood there for a minute, eventually tipping their foreheads together. Mellie had her eyes closed, but when she opened them Olivia was staring right at her. Lately, Mellie couldn’t exactly decipher what Olivia was thinking. She always looked like she was pondering something, or keeping herself from something, and Mellie never knew what it was.

           

 

Mellie knew now, because she was thinking the same thing.

           

 

They were close now, every part of their bodies practically touching, and Mellie prayed that none of her neighbors were looking out their windows right then, because it would look like they were kissing, when really only foreheads and noses and bodies were touching. Everything was touching but lips. If her father were to see them right now--

           

 

At the thought of her father, Mellie abruptly stepped back. “I should go inside now.”

           

 

“Yeah.” Olivia still had her hands outstretched, like she was reaching out for Mellie, but she eventually put them back at her sides. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

           

 

Mellie nodded. She put her hand on the doorknob, but didn’t make any move to go inside. She knew she had to at some point, but she was happier standing on the doorstep with Olivia, staring at her pretty dress and pretty hair and pretty smile, the smile directed at her, meant for her. “Good night.”

           

 

“ _‘Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say goodnight till be morrow._ ’” Olivia laughed, waving her hands around jokingly.

           

 

Mellie shook her head at Olivia’s laugh, “Is that _Romeo and Juliet_?” At Olivia’s smiling nod, she shook her head again. “God, you’re amazing.”

           

 

Olivia, glad the tension was broken, shrugged. “What can I say? Goodnight, Mel.”

           

 

“Goodnight, Liv.” Mellie watched as Olivia started walking away, and once she was halfway down the driveway she turned to open her door. All of a sudden, a hand on her shoulder pulled her back, and she was spun into a tight hug. Olivia had her hands pressed tight on Mellie’s back, holding her incredibly close. For a moment, all that Mellie could focus on was Olivia’s perfume and the feeling of their hearts beating together, fast and wild and uncontrollable. It was over as soon as it begun, and then Olivia actually _did_ leave, half running down the cobblestone pathway. Mellie watched in what could only be considered as longing, Olivia’s golden dress continuing to shine.

           

 

Mellie pushed through the front door before she could run down to catch up with Olivia, because she knew that if she looked into those brown eyes one more time that night, there was no telling what she would do.

 

**where mellie does some soul searching and finds exactly what she was looking for.**

 

Mellie didn’t have the motivation to take of her dress, instead collapsing on the couch in a ball of black silk and a barely concealed ache for the woman that just left, when she could have been on the couch with her instead, maybe cuddling or spooning or whatever the Hell Olivia wanted, Mellie would take. She leaned back onto the couch, her head in her hands. No matter how hard she tried--and she’d been trying for the past fifteen minutes, ever since Olivia left--to get her out of her mind, to rid her mind of that goddamn golden dress that clung to every curve on Liv’s body, of her red-lipped smile centimeters away from Mellie’s lips, of the feeling that coursed through Mellie’s body as Olivia pressed their bodies together.

           

 

Try as she might, her mind drifted to Olivia.

 

And try as she might, her mind drifted to her father, too, the picture of his disappointed face fresh in her mind. She heard him yelling, “Keep that in mind, Melody, when you walk around with your hands glued to Olivia Pope.” She heard him telling her at 17 “Women are not supposed to be with women. You will marry a man and you will be happy about it.” And she did. And now they were finished. And now...there was Olivia. There was Olivia, with her soft hugs and her fierce protectiveness and the way she held Mellie and let Mellie hold her. Olivia, who was kind and beautiful and cared for Mellie in a way Mellie had never experienced. And then there was her father, in her head, making her question everything and keep everything in. Her father, who yelled at her all those years ago, “Melody, look what you’re doing to your mother? She’s so unhappy!” “Melody, why are you looking at that girl?” “Melody, you’re a disappointment to me and your mother.” The memorable sigh and massage of the nose, the defeated, “Melody, why? You insufferable, horrid little girl.” The grab of the arm and spinning her around, his face close to hers and yelling until his throat was raw, letting her know just how much of a disappoint she was, just how much a mistake.

 

 

But there was _Olivia_. Olivia, who didn’t think she was a disappointment at all. Olivia, who thought of her as the opposite of a mistake, as her favorite person in the world. Olivia, with her determination to get Mellie into the Oval come hell or high water, who believed that Mellie could win the Presidency even without her help. Olivia, who came to dinners with her just so that she wouldn’t crumble in front of the man that broke her in the first place, who woke her up every two hours for four days because she had a concussion, even if that meant she didn’t get a good night’s sleep herself.

 

 

Olivia, who was a woman.

 

 

“ _Women are not supposed to be with women. You will marry a man and you will be happy about it_.” Mellie took a deep breath, all the anger and anxiety and hatred towards her father and her life and herself building up in one deep, cleansing gulp of air. She let it all go in a steady drizzle, everything washing away.

 

 

No. No, she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t be with a man, she wouldn’t marry with a man, and she wouldn’t be happy if she did. Olivia Pope may be a woman, but she was the woman who made Mellie feel the most alive, the woman who made Mellie’s heart swell with happiness, who made her laugh and smile and cry. She was the woman who made Mellie feel as if everything was going to be alright, because with Olivia everything _was_ alright. So, yes, Olivia was a woman.

 

 

But she was the _woman_ that Mellie _loved_.

 

**where mellie finally shows up at olivia’s doorstep for something real.**

 

Mellie was knocking on Olivia’s door far too loud and hard and constant to be considered normal, but she was afraid that if she stopped and gave her heart a moment to slow that she would turn around and run right down the stairs and away from the apartment.

 

 

She would come back, though. She always would.

           

 

Her heart was beating wild and fast, and her hands were sweaty from wringing her hands and the anxiety coursing through her, all through her body and her veins and her mind. Olivia opened the door, not wearing the gold dress anymore but leggings and a T-Shirt. Seeing Mellie’s face (which probably looked flushed--she had just run up the stairs because the elevator was taking too long), she immediately looked concerned, “Mellie? Are you okay?”

           

 

Mellie took a deep breath, words spilling from her mouth without any filter or rhyme or rhythm, “I don’t know if you feel the same way.”

           

 

Olivia’s face turned soft, “What?”

           

 

Mellie ignored the question and went on, letting her mouth and mind do the work, “I don’t know if you feel the same. I don’t know if I’m here because it’s late, or because I’m tired and my head hurts, but I do know that I just drove across town at probably 15 miles above the speed limit because I needed to see your face.” Mellie’s fingers were darting around her stomach and her arms, not knowing where to go, “I do know that I would be here at 2AM or 2PM or anything in between, and that whatever I do I really can’t stop myself from thinking about you.”

           

 

“I do know that I’m taking a risk right now, and this could ruin everything, because you could not feel the same, or...I don’t know, everything will change after this. But I do know that I can’t live with myself if I don’t at least try.” Mellie was breathing hard, and she could feel her fingertips buzzing. Olivia looked, well, she looked taken aback, and Mellie couldn’t tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing. All she could really focus on was the blood rushing in her ears, and how beautiful Olivia looked, the residue of makeup still on her face and her hair pushed behind her ears.

           

 

“I don’t know a lot of things, Olivia. But I know you. I know how I feel about you.” Mellie’s throat was all of a sudden very dry, and she just wanted Olivia to say something, _why_ wasn’t she saying anything?

           

 

Olivia put a shaky hand on her lips, her breath and heartbeat just as fast as Mellie’s. “And what do you feel for me?”

           

 

Mellie let herself smile and laugh a little bit, “So many things.” Olivia smiled even brighter, her emotions bubbling onto the surface in the form of white teeth and the stain of red lipstick.

           

 

“Me too, Mel.” Mellie smiled at this, and she wanted to step forward and take Olivia into her arms and kiss her and tell her absolutely everything she could ever possibly think of with her heart racing like this, but instead she just started at Olivia like an idiot, marveling at how one person could be so beautiful inside and out.

           

 

Mellie took one last shaky breath, and then stared right into Olivia’s eyes, letting her own show everything she was feeling at that moment, “Can I kiss you?”

           

 

If possible, Olivia’s smile grew even wider. “I thought you’d never ask.”

           

 

And then, in a rush of moving arms and curly hair, they fell of the cliff they’d been dangling off of for who knows how long.

           

 

Mellie immediately moved forward, finally throwing her arms around Olivia and crushing their lips together. Olivia immediately complied, wrapping her arms around Mellie’s neck and pulling her closer. She shut the door with her foot, not even bothering with the locks. And, oh, this what they had both been waiting for, the feeling of soft lips pressing hard, of hands weaving through hair and pushing closer, of tongues pushing past lips.

           

 

It was hard and rough and Mellie never wanted it to stop, wanted more, wanted Olivia even closer than she already was. When they had to stop to breathe, they looked at each other for a moment, then returned to kissing, because neither of them was going to stop _ever_. If Mellie could kiss Olivia for the rest of her life, then she would, because it felt so _good_ , like a drug coursing through her veins in the form of nipping teeth and hands on her back and roaming tongues.

           

 

“Jesus, Liv.” Mellie gasped as Olivia pushed her against the wall, grabbing Mellie’s arms and pinning them down so she could assault her neck with kisses and teeth. She trailed her lips down to Mellie’s collarbone and back up to her jaw, Mellie leaning her head back against the wall, not even ashamed at the noises Olivia was eliciting from her with every touch, arousal rolling like waves in her stomach.

           

 

She felt Olivia’s roaming hands on the back of her dress, pulling the zipper down, and Mellie grabbed her hand to stop her. “Not tonight. Just kissing tonight.” Olivia immediately stepped backwards.

           

 

“Sorry. I thought--” Mellie held her hand up.

           

 

“We can still kiss.” Mellie raised an eyebrow and pulled Olivia back in by the waist, pushing them back against the wall.

           

 

Olivia smiled and bit her lip, going back in slower this time, taking her time to feel every inch of Mellie’s mouth and revel in the way Mellie’s body and lips and tongue felt against hers. This was a different kiss than the first, softer and slower and livelier. Mellie brought her arms to rest around Olivia’s neck, kissing back with just as much feeling. “Who knew she was a good politician _and_ a good kisser?” Olivia mumbled against Mellie’s lips, and Mellie giggled a bit.

           

 

“Who knew?”

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD I AM SO SORRY ITS BEEN 11 DAYS SINCE THE LAST UPDATE! I had finals and like seven mental breakdowns, but this got done. I can't write when I'm severely mentally upset otherwise I'll kill Mellie or something...not even joking. I almost had Jake shoot her.
> 
> Well, I know this isn't my best update, but it's shomething. Enjoy Liv and Mellie kissing a lot. Again, sorry for the late update! If I haven't responded to your comments it's because I've been super busy typing this up, but I appreciate and cherish every single one. Thank you all so much

**where kissing is quite literally one of the best things ever.**

  
  


Sleeping in a tight black dress (with an annoying zipper and constraining stockings) was not the the picture perfect sleepwear in Mellie’s mind, but the picture perfect  _ person _ to actually sleep with was Olivia Pope, so she excused it. 

 

Mellie woke up to the press of soft lips against hers, Olivia’s hands cupping her cheek and dragging her thumb against Mellie’s lips, “Good morning.” She whispered against Olivia’s fingers, and she heard a chuckle above her.

 

“Good morning, Mel.” Olivia’s hair was falling onto Mellie’s face and tickling her nose, but she looked absolutely beautiful, glowing with what seemed a lot like happiness. Mellie pulled her closer, moving her lips against Olivia’s even though her mind was still groggy with sleep. 

  
  


Waking up to Olivia and actually getting to  _ kiss  _ her (instead of just pretending she didn’t really, really want to) made the morning even better than the night before.

 

(Of course, the night before had been very amazing nonetheless. Very, very amazing. 

As much as Olivia made Mellie want to stand there in the living room for eternity, what with Olivia picking her up and pushing her against the wall, or bringing them to the couch to kiss and lay comfortably, Fitz’s dinner had wiped Mellie out. And Olivia was perfectly compliant, leading them into the bedroom with her hands on Mellie’s waist and a goofy grin. Mellie was much too content kissing Olivia’s perfect smile and collapsing them on the bed that she neglected to stop them and pull on pajamas, and once they were nice and comfortable, cuddled close, she didn’t’ have the heart to get up and change.

 

Mellie didn’t think her relationship with Olivia could get any cheesier, but the way they held each other tightly that night, their noses practically touching and staring directly into the other’s eyes, she realized that their cheesiness had no bounds. She wasn’t sure she minded, though. It was a nice feeling, being so close to Olivia. Mellie had waited long enough to keep herself from Olivia for one more second--so she didn’t. She leaned forward and softly kissed Olivia every chance she got, which was when  _ Olivia  _ stopped kissing  _ her _ . She pulled Olivia as close as humanly possible. She did anything she could to convey the feelings she had harbored, anything to tell Olivia everything she meant to her without actually talking.)

 

“How is your head feeling?” Olivia balanced herself on a shoulder and rubbed Mellie’s stitches, eyeing the bruise that was failing to fade after the four days since her fall. 

 

Mellie’s smile flattered a bit, her curtain of euphoria blowing away and making her notice the throbbing on the left side of her head. Almost on cue, a rush of dizziness swept over her and she put a hand over her eyes.

  
  


Olivia frowned, “That bad?”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

“Maybe we should call Doctor Adams?” Olivia swung her legs out of bed and grabbed her phone off of the bed side table. 

 

Mellie grabbed her arm and pulled her back down next to her, “Let’s not.” When Olivia bit her lip, Mellie pulled her closer so that their lips were almost touching. “Let’s have today be our day. Just us.”

 

Olivia closed the gap between them, kissing Mellie slowly and softly, the exact opposite of their first kiss yesterday night. As Mellie wove her hands through Olivia’s hair, she was beginning to wonder if they’d even leave the bed for another couple of hours. Abruptly, Olivia pulled back. “Are you sure we shouldn’t see the doctor? You threw up last night, Mellie. Multiple times.”

 

And, just as her head pain resurfaced when Olivia brought it to her attention, the memory of Fitz’s dinner came rushing back up--all of it. Flashes of the night played in her head like a slideshow, flickers of gold and fake smiles and the throbbing in her head. Olivia in her gold dress, the fight with Fitz, seeing her father, throwing up discreetly in the bathroom, her father yelling at her--

 

“Mellie?” Mellie snapped out of her thoughts and saw Olivia’s face hovering over hers, “I lost you for a minute. Are you okay?”

 

Mellie sat up quickly, ignoring the blood rushing to her head, “I’m fine.” At Olivia’s unconvinced expression, she grabbed her hands, “I’m serious. I’m fine. My head is fine, my throwing up is just a symptom of the concussion. And you’re here. So--I’m fine. No doctors, no fathers, no leaving this apartment. A day with just us is all I want right now.”

 

Olivia seemed to accept this, and put her phone down. “A day with just us?”

 

“A day with just us.” Mellie smiled and pushed the covers off of her. “Alright, I’m gonna take these damn pantie hose off now.”

  
  


**where they have the mandatory talk.**

 

When Olivia was with Fitz, she never necessarily felt comfortable. They weren’t together in all capacities for her to feel actually  _ comfortable  _ in anything less than her best. Her legs were always shaved, her makeup always on, she was always in a constant state of trying to be her tip top self. Everything was rainbows and bliss and none of the sweetness and ascetic forms of relationship that she’s had with Mellie for such a long time.

 

Even before Mellie showed up at her doorstep and confessed the feelings that Olivia never voiced, Olivia felt more comfortable with her than she did with anyone else, than she’d  _ ever  _ been with anyone else. She was comfortable laying on the couch with unshaved legs and a day without a shower, her hair up in a messy bun and no makeup. She was comfortable wearing very unflattering sweatpants and eating obscene amounts of food in front of Mellie, because Mellie did the exact same thing.

 

Really, Olivia realized, they were a couple before they even kissed.

 

This revelation was apparent once Olivia realized they were acting extremely awkward around each other. Once they got out of bed and started getting dressed, Mellie went into the bathroom instead of pulling her shirt off like usual. She came out with a full face of makeup, which Olivia knew for a fact Mellie never did unless they were going out. Instead of sweatpants, Mellie put on a black dress and even put on a pair of heels. 

 

Olivia’s mind wandered back to Fitz, and their little bubble of always-perfect. She didn’t want that with Mellie. With Mellie, she wanted realness, the ‘whole shebang,’ everything and anything. She didn’t want a facade put on to impress Olivia. As Mellie came out of the bathroom, Olivia wrung her hands as she looked at Mellie’s lipstick, “Can we talk?”

 

Mellie’s face immediately fell, and she clasped her hands in front of her formally, “No need. I understand. I’ll just--be going.” She started out of the room, but Olivia jumped in front of her and blocked the exit.

 

“No! I shouldn’t have phrased it like that. I just...you’re wearing makeup.” Olivia looked down at Mellie’s outfit. “And a dress. And heels.” 

 

Mellie’s eyes darted around the room, searching for an answer. “I want to look good for you.” And she did, which was why she put on fake lashes and used her special red lipstick even if their only plans were laying on the couch and binging on popcorn.

 

Olivia smiled and shook her head, “I’m still the same person, Mel.” She wrapped her arms around Mellie’s neck and leaned in closer, “The only change is that I can kiss you now.”

 

“So you’ve wanted to kiss me before?” Mellie laughed, but she genuinely wanted to know. They hadn’t done much talking since Mellie showed up at Olivia’s door last night, mostly just communicating through the press of lips and hands. Now that Olivia had started talking, Mellie didn’t want to stop. She wanted everything out on the table.

 

Olivia stepped out of her embrace and led them into the kitchen, not answering Mellie’s question. She flitted around, turning on the coffee pot and popping two bagels into the toaster. Mellie watched her with a raised eyebrow, but as Olivia went to get out something from the cabinet, she gave up. Mellie strode towards Olivia and spun her around, putting their lips inches apart. “How long have you wanted to kiss me?”

 

Olivia looked up at Mellie (their height difference exaggerated by Mellie’s heels and Olivia’s bare feet), and she smiled mischievously, “Let’s just say that I was  _ very  _ relieved when you showed up last night. It’s been awhile.” She pulled away yet again and Mellie scowled.

 

“What do you mean, ‘It’s been awhile’? That’s not an answer!” She joked, following Olivia around the kitchen.

 

Olivia finally turned around and pushed Mellie against the kitchen counter, taking her completely by surprise. Immediately, the blood rushed up to Mellie’s cheeks, and Olivia dragged her eye’s to Mellie’s lips. “You’re my best friend.”

 

“I--yes, you’re mine too.” Mellie was expecting something along the lines of ‘I’ve wanted to kiss you for like seven years’ or ‘Why you don’t we just kiss for like seven years,’ but this was very touching of Olivia.

 

“You’re my best friend, and if I really look back and think about the times I’ve thought about kissing you, it would be from the moment I met you.” Olivia shushed Mellie, as she was about to interrupt, “Yes, I slept with Fitz. But you’re prettier. You’re very beautiful. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were kissed by random strangers on the street. You have a very kissable face.”

 

Mellie laughed as Olivia started assaulting her face with little pecks on the cheek and on the chin and nose and forehead, “You’re an idiot.” Mellie laughed, but inside her heart was warm, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss Olivia for the rest of her life.

 

“But the first time I realized my feelings for you was after that whole Marcus fiasco. I was very angry.”

 

“I know you were.” Mellie smiled, bringing up her hand to rub Olivia’s cheek, “I'm surprised he isn’t lying in a ditch somewhere.”

 

Olivia laughed, “I didn’t think Huck would do it. Or Quinn. The point is that I was very happy you showed up.”

 

Mellie frowned, “Why didn’t you kiss me before? It would have saved me a lot of soul searching and anxiety.” She laughed, but she knew that if Olivia had come to  _ her _ , Mellie would have pushed her away. She needed to think things out for herself, to work out the options and look down every road, she needed to settle her feelings, especially because of everything with her father. 

 

“I didn’t want to jeopardize your presidency. Your presidency is worth more than--” Olivia was interrupted by Mellie’s lips crashing into hers. She knew what Mellie was doing, and she was grateful for it.

 

With frantic eyes, Mellie pulled back, “Don’t ever finish that sentence, Olivia.  _ Ever _ . The next time you want to do something spontaneous like kiss me when you feel like it or anything else, just do it. But don’t ever finish that sentence.” 

 

Olivia nodded, wondering what spontaneity Mellie was expecting. The kind of spontaneity of kissing her in front of Sally Langston (which she would never do) or the spontaneity of making her a five course meal over candlelight wearing that gold dress she wore last night (which she would totally do, especially because Mellie was obviously in love with that dress). So, settling in between, Olivia leaned forward and pressed her lips against Mellie’s lips, wondering how many times she’d be able to do that in the next minute.

 

“Wait, Olivia--” Mellie slid out of Olivia’s arms and put her hands on the counter. “We really should talk.”

 

Olivia faltered for a moment, wondering if she’d done anything to upset Mellie. But the way Mellie was looking at her, her eyes bright and lost and wandering, she let her worries go. Mellie Grant was Mellie Grant, of course she’d want to talk about everything that happened. And Olivia didn’t blame her, either, what with her father and the way Fitz treated her and everything she’d been through. If Olivia was being honest with herself, she didn’t know how Mellie was standing in front of her at that moment. “Of course. Whatever you want to talk about, we’ll talk about it.”

 

Mellie floundered, sitting down on the kitchen stool and staring at the granite countertop. “What does this mean, Olivia? Us? What does it mean?” She looked up at Olivia, who sat down next to her.

 

“I don’t know.” Olivia whispered.

 

“I can’t have it mean nothing. You...you’re not  _ nothing  _ to me, Liv. I may be running for President and we may have both slept with the same man and my father may kill me or you or both of us, but I can’t have this be nothing.” Mellie grabbed onto the countertop and dared not to meet Olivia’s eyes.”

 

“Mellie,” Olivia tentatively reached to Mellie’s shoulder, relaxing when she leaned into the touch, “I don’t want this to be nothing.”

 

Mellie’s head shot up to look at Olivia, “You don’t?”

 

“Of course not,” Olivia laughed, “Mellie, I’ve been wanting to act upon my feelings for you for so, so long. I’ve been waiting, praying, for you. I couldn’t give a damn about the country or Fitz  _ or  _ your father. All I want is you.”

 

“All you want is me?” Mellie nodded to herself, processing everything that was happening. Truthfully, when she marched up to Olivia’s apartment with her golden dress and dark red lipstick in mind, Mellie thought that her life was about to crash and burn. She thought that Olivia would shake her head, and the “It’s not you, it’s me” thing would happen, and then everything would be ruined. Mellie imagined a million different scenarios where absolutely everything went wrong, but the last scenario she thought would happen was Olivia saying  _ yes, _ Olivia crushing their lips together and pushing her against the wall and laying with her all night, waking up at random times to kiss Mellie and then fall back asleep. 

 

Mellie couldn’t have been happier with the turn of events. 

 

Olivia nodded back at her, “All I want is you, Mel. That’s it.” She laughed, “Not that we weren’t practically a couple before all of this.”   


 

“We really were.” Mellie leapt off of her chair and put her arms around Olivia’s waist, tilting her head up to see her face. “I mean, you cook for me. We were definitely dating.”

 

“The only difference is that we kiss now.” Olivia proved her point by leaning forward to kiss Mellie, feeling Mellie’s smile under her lips. “Does this mean you’re my girlfriend?”

 

“If that’s what you want.”

 

“Oh, I want.”

 

Mellie nipped Olivia’s lip one last time before pulling away, her lipstick intensely smudged only 20 minutes after application, “Then I guess, lovers of liberty, our dear Sally Langston was right.”

  
  


**where quinn is as ecstatic as they’d expect her to be.**

  
  


After a long not-really argument, with the use of ardent kisses as bait, Mellie had convinced Olivia to bring them to OPA. 

 

(“I want to work!” Mellie had said, pulling in Olivia by the collar and dragging her lips across hers, pulling away before Olivia could deepen the kiss. “I need a change of scenery that doesn’t involve my ex husband and father.” 

 

“You are  _ sick _ . You are  _ throwing up _ .” Olivia brought Mellie back into a kiss, rubbing her bruise with the hand that wasn’t twirling Mellie’s hair, “I’m not blind, Mel, I can see your bruise, which is not fading, and your skin, which is abnormally pale. And I can  _ see  _ you holding your head when I’m not looking.”

 

Mellie groaned, “But,  _ Liv _ .” She quirked an eyebrow, putting both hands on Olivia’s waist and abruptly moving them closer, “If you don’t let me go, I’ll just go myself.”

 

Olivia gasped, “You wouldn’t dare.”   


 

Mellie decided to go big or go home, dipping her head to Olivia’s ear and lightly nipping at the shell, reveling in the way Olivia’s body arched into hers. “Try me.” She whispered.

 

They had both forgotten their conversation for a while once they were pressed tight against the counter, assaulting each other’s necks and jaws and mouths with lips and teeth. Once Mellie pulled away, Olivia couldn’t help but crave more of her smudged lipstick and blue eyes that looked a little darker than usual and her wild, tangled hair. “Fine, let’s go.”)

 

On the ride there, Olivia couldn’t help but smile at Mellie’s excitement. After a minute of Mellie tapping her fingers against her leg, she looked over at Olivia, “Can we only tell Huck and Quinn for now? And Marcus, if he’s there. Just them?”

 

Olivia nodded, reaching over to grasp Mellie’s hand, “Of course.”

 

When they pulled into OPA, Mellie practically ran out of the car and into the lift, followed closely by a laughing Olivia. In the lift, Olivia eyed Mellie with a little smile. Without hesitation, she pulled Mellie in for a kiss, taking advantage of the fact that she actually  _ could  _ kiss her. No longer would she be looking achingly at Mellie, wishing she could do something other than just  _ wish _ . Now, she could  _ do _ .

 

Mellie squealed under Olivia’s lips, smacking her away, “My lipstick!” 

 

Olivia laughed at the large smudge of red pigment all along her mouth, “You look like you drank too much Kool-Aid.” She laughed again and Mellie smacked her with her purse. 

 

Mellie pulled out a little compact mirror and began scrubbing at her lips, but Olivia wrapped her arms around Mellie yet again. She started to kiss up the slope of Mellie’s neck, going from collar bone to jaw to ear, taking a leaf from Mellie’s book “I’m going to give you a piece of advice: You should probably  _ not  _ wear lipstick around me anymore.” 

 

They looked at each other for a moment, and then Mellie dropped her purse and mirror, wrapping her arms around Olivia’s neck and kissing her deeply. Olivia pushed them backwards and up against the elevator wall (Mellie thanked god that this was under better circumstances than her last makeout session in this lift), lifting Mellie a little bit off the wall. Mellie gasped as Olivia’s teeth bit into her neck, and she held onto Olivia’s back. “ _ Liv _ .” Mellie hissed, bringing Olivia’s head back to her level. Mellie looked at her for a moment, and then seemed to decide something. She pressed their bodies closer together, her hand traveling to the waistband of Olivia’s pants. She felt Olivia’s body shudder against hers as Mellie slid her hands against the planes of her stomach, the other hand traveling to Olivia’s ass. Olivia grabbed a fistful of Mellie’s dress, wrenching it up to expose Mellie’s legs, and was about to slide her hand up to Mellie’s bra when the lift doors opened. 

 

“Shit!” Mellie squeaked, stepping away from Olivia and smoothing down her dress frantically as Olivia pulled down her shirt and fixed her hair. With one look at Olivia, her hair mussed and with wild eyes, Mellie burst out into laughter. Olivia mirrored her, grabbing her hand and walking out of the lift together.

  
  


“We’re here!” Mellie yelled as they burst into the conference room, where Quinn and Huck were sitting. 

  
  


Quinn jumped out of her chair, “Oh my god! I didn’t know you were coming today!” She ran towards Mellie, pulling her into a tight hug while purposefully avoiding her head. “Are you okay? The last time Olivia called me she said you were throwing up.”

  
  


Mellie rolled her eyes at Olivia, “I’m  _ fine _ , Olivia just likes to coddle me.” 

  
  


“Don’t I know.” Quinn laughed at Olivia’s blush. “So, were you two just making out in the elevator?”

  
  


Mellie wasn’t even surprised that Quinn asked her that, she probably looked like a mess (she could still feel Olivia’s hands  _ everywhere _ ). Before she could tell herself not to, Mellie laughed and nodded, “Yes, we definitely were making out in the elevator.”

  
  


Quinn’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped, “Oh my god. Oh my  _ god _ , I was just kidding, but you’re not! You’re dating? Or at least considering it? Well, you must be considering it if you were unabashedly making out in the lift. Oh my god!” Quinn clapped her hand over her mouth, laughing hysterically, “Fucking  _ finally _ !”

  
  


Olivia finally let out a burst of laughter, “You seem happy.”

  
  


“Well, of course I am! I was being driven crazy with all of this damn sexual tension. I mean,  _ damn _ .” 

  
  


Huck suddenly got up and walked to the group, a tiny little smile on his face. “Well, it’s about time, Liv.”

  
  


“Not you too!” Olivia laughed, wrapping an arm around Mellie, who was still laughing at Quinn’s very-red face. 

  
  


Mellie calmed herself down and clapped her hands together, “Liv’s letting me work today, so that’s what I’ll be doing.” 

  
  


The rest of the day was strangely calming, and Mellie got exactly what she wanted out of it. The day was a change in scenery, and she got a lot of prep work done that she’d been putting off--rather, the work  _ Olivia  _ had put off. Olivia had not ceased to continuously check up on her, though, making her take 15 minute breaks every hour to relax her mind. These 15 minute breaks probably didn’t relax her all that much, due to Olivia making out with her for the entire time (not that she was complaining--she definitely was not complaining). 

  
  


While Mellie was filling out a mounting pile of paperwork, Quinn quietly slipped into Olivia’s office. “So.”

  
  


Olivia looked up from her computer and at Quinn’s smiling face, “So?”

  
  


“So, tell me what happened! I mean, Liv, you and Mellie are finally together! I need a second by second playthrough of how this came to be.” Quinn waited expectantly, perching on the edge of Olivia’s desk while Olivia told her everything that had occurred during the past night.

  
  


As Olivia finished, Quinn looked down at her hands, her brows furrowed, “So, she just  _ showed  _ up? No...warning, or anything? The only thing that happened between you is you hugged and then she shows up at your apartment confessing feelings for you? You hug all the time, what made this different?”

  
  


Olivia hadn’t thought about the situation that way. In her mind, she always wanted to kiss Mellie, so Mellie always wanting to kiss her was just icing on the gay wedding cake. “I--well, I don’t know, Quinn. I don’t think anything happened at Fitz’s dinner.”

  
  


“Was there any time you two weren’t together at the dinner?” Quinn asked, suddenly actually wondering what set Mellie’s feelings off.

  
  


Olivia nodded, “She was in the bathroom throwing up for awhile.”

  
  


“Really? Is she okay?” Quinn sidetracked at the idea of Mellie throwing up in a bathroom all alone.

  
  


“So she says. Mellie’s very stubborn, if you didn’t know.” They chuckled, and Mellie’s dress caught Olivia’s eye through the window. Mellie was sitting at the table, her legs not on the floor but on the tabletop, and she had pulled her hair into a messy bun at some point. Olivia couldn’t see her face, but she knew that if she could, Mellie would have her “work face” on, as Olivia called it. Her nose would be scrunched up, her pen resting on the tip of her nose. Her brows would be furrowed, and she’d look absolutely beautiful. Quinn had brought up a good point--what  _ had  _ convinced Mellie to confess her feelings? 

  
  


As Olivia watched Mellie, Mellie’s hand flew up to her head, keeling over as the other hand grasped some papers on the table. She bent over the table in obvious pain, springing both Olivia and Quinn out of their spots and into the conference room. 

  
  


“Mellie!” Olivia yelled, running up to her. 

  
  


Mellie waved her hand to stop Olivia from worrying, “I’m fine, I’m fine.” She mumbled, but she was still bent over the table, her head now in both hands. 

  
  


Olivia pulled up a chair next to her, careful not to make any noise, and rested a light hand on Mellie’s back. “You don’t have to be fine, Mel. Your head is supposed to hurt still, Dr. Adams said you should still be feeling symptoms. You’ve overworked yourself.”

  
  


“I am the Junior Senator of Virginia, I am running for President, Olivia. I do not  _ overwork _ . I’m a mother, too, by the way.” Mellie’s muffled response came from behind her hands, but Olivia could hear the tears in her hands.

  
  


Olivia sighed, slowly pulling Mellie’s head out of her hands. Her skin looked even paler than usual, the purple of her bruise standing out in contrast. Frankly, she looked on the verge of--

  
  


“Bathroom.” Mellie blurted, running into the OPA restroom and Olivia running after her. Quinn could hear the retching all the way from the conference room, along with Olivia’s soothing voice calming Mellie down.

  
  


Huck walked into the room, looking with wide eyes out into the hallway. He then turned to Quinn, “Yikes.”

  
  


“I’m fine!” Mellie yelled from the bathroom, followed by more retching. Olivia was rubbing circles onto her back and holding her hair out of the way as much as possible--they’d been in this position many times in the last five days, so Olivia was used to it. 

  
  


(She had insisted to Dr. Adams over the phone that Mellie was throwing up more than what could possibly be healthy. He insisted right back that it was a perfectly normal symptom of concussions, and that unless she was throwing up blood she should be fine. This would cause Olivia to yell, “ _ Should _ be! What is that supposed to mean!” And then she’d have to hang up so that she could help Mellie, as she was running into the bathroom again.)

  
  


“Mellie, deep breaths.” Olivia whispered, breathing in, then out, until Mellie was following suit and regained her composure. “Let’s go home, babe.”

  
  


Mellie didn’t even fight, just nodded and followed her out of the bathroom. Olivia held onto her waist because Mellie was shaking, and Olivia could feel it by just holding her.

  
  


(Olivia had also called Dr. Adams about the shaking. The same thing happened.)

  
  


Olivia packed up Mellie’s work and grabbed a couple things from the office as Mellie sat down and rested at the conference table, “We’re going to head home, guys. It was nice seeing you.” 

  
  


In the lift, Mellie smiled shakily up at Olivia, “I’m not fine. My head really hurts and I’m tired of throwing up. I’m really not fine at all, Liv.”

  
  


Olivia brushed a strand of hair out of Mellie’s face, “I know. I’m here for you, though, every step of the way.”

  
  


Mellie nodded, fitting her head into the crook of Olivia’s shoulders as they rode the elevator. No matter how badly her head was throbbing, she knew she had a beautiful woman to hold all night--and for many nights to come.

  
  


**where mellie is a badass bitch just like always.**

  
  


The last thing Mellie needs when her and Olivia stumble off the elevator to Liv’s apartment is Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III standing outside of the door.

 

“He’s everywhere. Oh my god.” Mellie groaned, quickly letting go of Olivia’s hand and using sarcasm to cover it up. If the last thing she needed was Fitz ruining her night, she needed him knowing of her personal life with Olivia Pope even less. 

 

He smiled with that ridiculous smirk that both Mellie and Olivia loathed oh, so much, “Look at this. The only women I’ve ever loved, both so very happy to see me.”

 

Mellie scoffed, “You show love in very interesting ways, Fitz. Such as, oh, I don’t know, being a dick.” Her head was throbbing and she could feel bile rising in her throat, and the way Fitz was standing in front of her, all pretentious and arrogant and horrid, he reminded Mellie so much of her father that it actually almost made her throw up.

 

“Cause  _ I  _ was the dick in the relationship. Okay, Mellie.” He shook his head in mock disbelief, and Mellie felt Olivia tense up next to her.

 

Olivia shook with what could only be considered rage, “What are you doing here, Fitz? Are you here for something important, or only to piss Mellie off when you  _ know _ she’s sick?” Olivia was praying that Mellie wouldn’t throw up, but at the same time she wanted Mellie to do it all over Fitz’s ostentatiously expensive shoes.

 

“Wow, Liv, I expected Mellie to be a bitch, but you? Don’t stoop to her level?” Mellie leapt forward, her palm outstretched, but Olivia held her arm back. “Awe, look at that. Mellie and her  _ girlfriend _ .” He shook his head in disgust, “I’m here to talk to Mellie about her father.”

 

“Oh, of course!” Mellie threw her hands up, “Of course you’ve been cavorting with my father, out all people. If your daddy was here, you’d be the Three Asshole Musketeers.” Olivia stifled a laugh behind Mellie’s back.

 

Fitz seethed, “He wanted me, specifically, to ask you to breakfast for him. And he also, specifically, asked for just you. Not you and Olivia. Just you. Frankly, I agree with him. At the beginning of our marriage I thought he was a bastard, I’ll admit. But over the last five days I’ve really gotten to know him, Mel, and I agree with every word he says. He told me all about your little gay adventures as a teen. You broke your parents heart, Mellie. Your father’s disappointed in you, all he wanted was a normal daughter, not a  _ mistake _ . And, honestly, I’m glad he got it with Harmony and his new wife, now that he doesn’t have his daughter and  _ you _ \--”

 

Fitz was interrupted by the smack of Mellie’s fist hitting his nose and knocking him over. He put his hand to his face and it came back bright red and bloody. Mellie, chest heaving, started screaming at him, “I don’t  _ fucking  _ need this right now! You insufferable  _ slug,  _ do you think I  _ care  _ what you think about something you know nothing about, about my father who’s hardly a bigger asshole than you? Do you think that you hold the  _ power _ here? Even if i don’t make it to the Oval—but let’s face it, Fitz, I will—you are out of the job in a few short months and I will make it my personal mission that you never have one ounce of political power for the rest of your life, and that you will never get to see your children again you  _ monster _ . My father is none of your  _ damn _ business, Fitz. Let’s go, Liv.”

 

Olivia followed Mellie silently as she opened the locks, Fitz just standing there, blood gushing out of his nose and mouth hanging open. Mellie grabbed Olivia’s hand and led them into the apartment, locking the door behind them.

  
  
  
  



	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys, so I’m sorry AGAIN for that late update, but guess what? It’s summer vacation! I do have things to do, but I should be updating more frequently…hopefully. Also my birthday is soon (July 4th!!), so yeah. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Mellie is a badass, let’s be clear.

**where tears are shed and hands are wrapped.**

  
  


As soon as Mellie locked the door behind them, she crushed Olivia’s lips against hers in a bruising kiss, taking her completely and utterly off guard. Mellie backed them onto the couch, her knees folding against the cushions and collapsing them onto it. She pulled Olivia onto her lap, weaving her hands through Olivia’s hair before either of them could acknowledge the scene that just unfolded outside.

 

“Mellie,” Olivia pulled back, her mind hazy with the feeling of Mellie’s lips ghosting over the slope of her throat and over her collarbone, nipping and biting and touching. As  _ infuriatingly  _ pleasant as that was, why the hell were they kissing when Mellie just punched Fitz in the face, and Mellie’s father was still in the picture, and  _ why  _ was Mellie not freaking out after everything that just happened? “Fitz--”

 

“I don’t care about Fitz,” Mellie didn’t want to think about anything to do with that man at the moment, didn’t want to think about the throbbing pain in her right hand, the tears pushing against the back of her eyelids and the nausea still in place from OPA. She pressed their lips together again, murmuring, “All I care about is you.” 

 

Olivia placed her hands on the side of Mellie’s face, distancing herself from her tantalizing lips, “As nice as that is to hear, we need to talk about this. And  _ you  _ need to sit down, you were throwing up a half hour ago. Thank god you keep a toothbrush in your purse.” She laughed, but seeing Mellie’s distraught expression and the film of tears covering her eyes, Olivia disentangled herself from their position on the couch. “Are you okay?”

 

“I--” Mellie cut off, taking a deep breath and leaning against the cushions. “He’s going to kill me.”

 

Olivia watched as a tear slipped from Mellie’s eyes, which were staring at the ceiling and pointedly not at her. “Fitz?”

 

Mellie gave the textbook example of an empty, cold laugh, “Fitz and my father as well. Maybe they’ll team up and do it--I’m sure it’d be satisfying for both of them.”

 

Olivia frowned at Mellie’s calmness in saying this, “They’re not going to kill you, Mellie.”

 

“I don’t know, Liv, my father’s probably wanted to kill me since I kissed Sam in the third grade.” At Olivia’s confused expression, Mellie smiled, “My first gay encounter. Sam with the braids and pretty dresses. We would play on the swings every day at recess, hold hands and things, and boy, was my little third grade heart in love. The day she kissed my cheek, I told my father I was in love...and he made it clear that I was never allowed to talk to her again, because girls like boys, not other girls.” Mellie sighed, and Olivia wondered why she was even telling her this at all.

 

“Of course, I did talk to her again in my senior year. We were paired up in Government class. We ended up kissing again, because she was wearing a leather jacket and I hated my father, and red lipstick is very attractive. I can still confirm that ladies wearing lipstick are my weakness.” She smiled at Olivia, who was trying not to be very concerned with Mellie. “Anyway, we were together for about half of my senior year, but her mom found out, and she told my dad, and everything was horrible.” Mellie shook her head, “I couldn’t move out, I just wasn’t in a type of environment where I could move out, and my father was...worse than ever. I hated myself almost as much as he hated me.” 

 

“Mellie…” Olivia swallowed back a small sob as Mellie sat before her. How could someone who just beat the shit out of the President of the United States look so  _ broken _ ? “You’re not under his roof anymore, you’re your own person now--”

 

“That doesn’t mean I can function with him here, Liv!” Mellie sucked in a gulp of air, “I’m not controlled by him anymore, but I can’t do anything when he’s in a room with me, it’s like I’m being choked the entire time! I’m finally  _ happy _ , Olivia. These last couple of months have been good, they’ve been amazing, and he’s going to...he’s going to ruin it all.” 

 

Olivia grabbed Mellie’s hand to offer some comfort, but Mellie hissed in pain, reeling back and cursing under her breath. Olivia grabbed Mellie’s hand, softer this time, and flipped it over, exposing a row of split open, bloody knuckles, spots of purple and yellow bruises dotting each bone. “Mellie! How hard did you hit him?”

 

Mellie shook her head, putting her face in her hands, “As hard as I could.”

 

Olivia ran into the bathroom to get the first aid kit under the sink, coming back into the living room to see Mellie in the exact same place--head in hands, hair cascading over shoulders, shoulders slumped. 

 

“Give me your hand.” She sat down next to Mellie, waiting a moment before Mellie gave Olivia her hand. She cleaned and bandaged the wound, kissing each knuckle along the way. The room was silent for a long while before Olivia finally addressed the problem at hand, “Are you going to the breakfast tomorrow?”

 

Mellie had been resting her head on the back of the couch, watching Olivia care for her hand and kiss her and be  _ there _ . There was nothing she could have said to comfort Mellie, and she knew that, so she helped in the way that she could, and Mellie couldn’t help but wonder how on earth she had landed someone like Olivia in her life. “What do you think I should do?”

 

Olivia reached up to cup Mellie’s cheek, rubbing her thumb across her cheek in the way she had been doing for the past week, from the bruise on her head to the apples of her cheeks--Mellie had come to think of it as Olivia’s spot on her cheek, reserved for Olivia and Olivia alone. “I think you should go.”

 

“Really?” Mellie placed a hand over Olivia’s, “Why?”

  
  


With a small smile, Olivia intertwined their fingers together, “You need to settle this once and for all, Mellie. You need to break free of him. There does not need to be a Mr. Chase in your life anymore, dictating who you should love and who you should be. You’re not Melody Chase anymore. You are Mellie Grant, Junior Senator of Virginia, future President of the United States--you need to tell him that.” Mellie went to interrupt, but Olivia kept going, “You are amazing, Mellie. You are so much more than what he has made you believe you are your entire life. This is not North Carolina, you are not a teenager, you are not obligated to love him and to listen to him. You are a bigger and better person than he could ever dream he could be. Tomorrow could be the last time you have to deal with him, if that’s what you tell him. You could be free.”

 

Mellie wondered what it would be like not to have her father in her life, not to have that constant fear and weight of disappointment and the baited feeling of seeing him again. It would be like an anvil off of her chest, like lifting a literal weight off of her body and mind, leaving a life of happiness and freedom and Olivia. “Alright.”

 

“Alright?” 

 

“Alright, I’ll go to breakfast tomorrow.” Mellie finally let herself look at Olivia, at this woman who probably knew everything there was to know about her, this woman who gave her more love than she had ever received in her entire life. The rest of the night, as they got ready for bed and Olivia led them to bed, fitting into each other just as they had been doing for so long, like two puzzle pieces that finally found each other, Mellie didn’t stop staring. She didn’t think she ever could, not with the way Olivia was looking at her, like there was a mystery in her eyes and only she could find out by rubbing the small of her back and holding her incredibly close.

 

Olivia had never gotten used to the feeling of holding Mellie. It was always a shock that warmed her stomach and heart, the feeling of holding Mellie and letting her head rest on her shoulder and wanting to get even closer. Even now that they were in a different thing than friendship, the feeling didn’t change. She didn’t feel different about Mellie now that she could kiss her--she was still hopelessly, hopelessly in  _ so deep _ .

 

“Mellie?” Olivia whispered, testing to see if she was awake. Judging by the even breaths and no response with a bleary ‘what’ or a kiss on the nose, Mellie was asleep and couldn’t hear what she was about to say.

 

Olivia kissed Mellie’s shoulder and curled a strand of hair around her finger, “I hope this works.” She whispered, “I hope this sticks, and whatever stupid father or crazy politician or ex husband gets in our way, we can kick their asses and come out of it stronger than before. I want to be with you. I want to run the world.”

 

Mellie smiled at Olivia’s voice, awake despite Olivia’s knowledge. 

 

They would definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, run the world together. 

 

**where mellie preps to change her life with a beautiful woman by her side.**

  
  


“My head hurts.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I’m not very hungry.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I really don’t want to do this.”

 

“I know.”

 

They had been going back and forth for a while as Mellie got ready for breakfast, Mellie listing off the reasons why she shouldn’t go to it and Olivia rebutting every single one of them, reminding her why she was doing this in the first place. As much as Mellie was arguing sitting in the same room with her father for more than three minutes, she knew that it was the best thing she could do at the moment, especially with what Olivia had said the night before. She was going to be  _ free _ of her father’s nasty comments, of the horrible things he’d polluted her mind with all these years. He’d be gone, and she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore, and  _ free  _ would be the only way to describe it.

 

Olivia had helped her pick out her dress, a black, knee length thing that showed off her curves, and Olivia appreciated it greatly. “Can you zip my dress?” Mellie stood in front of the full length mirror in their bedroom, her back exposed to Olivia.

 

Olivia’s response caught in her throat at the smooth expanse of skin in front of her, interrupted by a single strip of black, lacy cloth. “Yeah...uh, sure.” Her hands as well as her eyes traveled downward towards the zipper, zipping up the dress with shaky hands. Her eyes caught Mellie’s in the mirror, and Mellie quirked an eyebrow with a little smirk. Olivia laughed under her breath. “You’re horrible.”

 

“Thanks.” Mellie leaned forward to kiss Olivia, quick and slow at the same time. Olivia smiled under her lips, and Mellie felt a gush of anxiety at the task before her, “Maybe I shouldn’t go. I should just stay here with you.”

 

Olivia pulled back, “Nuh uh. Kissing will not make me change my mind.”

 

Mellie scoffed, “Are you sure?” She put her hands on Olivia’s back, roaming further downward, “Cause I can do a bit more than kiss.”

 

“Put on your shoes.” Olivia stepped out of Mellie’s embrace, going into the closet and leaving Mellie to stare at herself in the mirror and worry. The safer option would be to stay here with Olivia, to order Gettysburger and watch some dumb movie and cuddle, not to face her father and say the things she’d been repressing for the majority of her life. She should just...not go. Maybe she could  _ say  _ she went to the restaurant, but actually duck into some other café on the way and drink coffee for an hour or two. That wouldn’t work, though, because no doubt the press would catch her either way, and then Olivia would know. 

  
  


Mellie turned to the side and eyed her stomach, wondering what her father would have to say about her outfit--he’d say  _ something _ , that was for sure. “Liv, do I look pudgy in this?” Mellie sucked in her stomach a little, turning to the side and seeing how she looked.

 

Olivia walked out of the closet with a pair of Mellie’s heels in hand, “Stop worrying about how you look, you’re beautiful no matter what you put on.” She walked up to Mellie and wrapped her arms around her waist from behind, looking at the two of them in the mirror. They really  _ were  _ a good couple, if she did say so herself. A very anxious-looking at the moment couple, but nonetheless good looking. Olivia read this herself in a gossip article the other day, the entire thing talking about how adorable her and Mellie were together--if only they knew.

 

“Shoes.” Mellie sighed as Olivia dropped the heels in front of her, slipping them on acquiescently. 

 

Olivia placed her head on Mellie’s shoulder, “You’ll do great. I know you will.”

 

“Let’s hope.” 

  
  


**where mr. chase is exactly what we think he’d be but gets what he deserves.**

  
  


When Mellie walked into the breakfast diner at 10:00 AM on the dot, the first thing she saw was her father’s disapproving glare, staring pointedly at her dress.  _ God, I should have worn the blue one.  _

 

“Mrs. Grant, so good to see you,” A perky brunette waitress came up to her and shook her hand eagerly. “Mr. Chase is right over there.” Mellie thanked her and let the waitress lead her to the table, her stomach practically in her throat.

 

“Melody,” Her father stood up with a fake smile plastered on his face, pulling her into a hug. After a minute of fumbling out of his arms and into the chair, the waitress gave them the menus and rattled off the specials. Mellie found herself not paying attention in the slightest, focusing so hard on the specials and the words directed at her that she really wasn’t processing them at all.

 

After the waitress left, Mellie stared pointedly at her menu, ignoring her father’s gaze, “Melody.”

 

She sighed, still not looking up at him, “It’s Mellie.”

 

“ _ Melody, _ ” He retorted, “That  _ dress _ . Really? You look horribly pudgy in it.” He said this all with a sickly sweet smile, reaching out across the table to pat her hand.

 

Mellie finally looked up from her menu, smoothing down her dress with her hands, “Do I? Olivia thought I looked beautiful. In fact, she zipped me into it herself.” Go big or go home, she told herself. If Mellie was going to go against her father, she was going to do it right.

 

Mr. Chase practically choked on the air, looking at her smirking face with wide eyes, “How...how  _ dare _ \--”

 

“Have you two decided what you want to eat?” The waitress interrupted them.

 

Mellie smiled up at her, “Yes, actually. I’ll have the pancakes with a side of home fries.”

 

“Actually, Ms.” He looked at the waitresses name tag, “Rhonda, that’s what  _ I’ll  _ be having. Melody here will have the fruit bowl.” Mellie went to interrupt him, but he glared at her so scathingly she shut up. 

 

The waitress smiled awkwardly, “Um, okay. I’ll be back with that as soon as possible.” She left again, leaving Mellie to stare at her father with an open mouth.

 

“Are you kidding me?” Mellie put her hands under the table, afraid he’d see how bad they were shaking and tell her it was because she had had too much sugar lately or something preposterous like that.

 

He smiled at her, “I told you that you looked pudgy.”

 

(Mellie had been hearing the word  _ pudgy  _ her entire life--it was her father’s favorite adjective to use for her, shot scathingly across menus at restaurants or over the lid of coffee cups when she walked down the stairs in the morning to go to school. “Melody, you’re looking awfully pudgy today.” “Melody, you probably shouldn’t wear that, it makes you look pudgy.” “You shouldn’t eat that much, you’re pudgy enough already.” 

 

When she was living under her father’s roof, he dictated her diet as strictly as one could, almost unhealthily. Never was she allowed to eat anything remotely unhealthy. This diet stayed with her throughout college, but after she married Fitz and he began his campaign for governor, she was exposed to all the wonders of fattening, unhealthy foods, and she indulged in them to the fullest. She never even had a cheeseburger until she was 23. Even now, just a bowl of ice cream--given to her by the wonderful Olivia Pope--felt like a very welcome retribution.)

 

When the food came, Mellie ate quietly, the unfolding of the breakfast weighing on her chest and her head and her mind like an ocean, pushing her down, down, down, so she ate her damn fruit bowl (but not the cherries, because they had lots of sugar) and let her father gloatingly enjoy the pancakes. 

 

Mr. Chase set his fork down, “Stop eating the fruit. We need to talk about Olivia.” Mellie set down her silverware compliantly, waiting for what he had to say, “Are you two together?”

 

Mellie took a deep breath. “Yes, yes we are.” She kept her voice down, aware of the woman at the table beside her who clearly was listening intently. 

 

“Are you happy?” 

 

She was stunned into silence for a moment, completely taken aback. Mellie was not expecting that follow up question. “Yes, I am. I, uh,” she laughed a little to herself, “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”

 

There was a moment of baited silence, and then her father took a swig of coffee, setting it down harder than either one of them would have liked, “God  _ dammit  _ Melody!” He yelled under his breath, “How many  _ goddamn  _ times do I have to direct you on how to rule your life?”

 

Mellie felt her heart plummet in her chest--she should have known he wasn’t being genuine, wasn’t having a ‘moment’ where maybe, just  _ maybe  _ he changed his mindset. No, he was still the same man who threatened to kick her out at 15 and 16 and 17, who yelled at her when she even gave a woman a second glance, who thought she was a mistake. She shouldn’t have let herself be hopeful. “Dad--”

 

“No, Melody, I am  _ talking _ . Did you not hear me the other day at the President's Dinner? Do you not remember that wretched girl Sam? Do you not even  _ think at all  _ if it’s not to ogle a woman or to sneak off with Olivia Pope and disgrace the Chase name, and the United States along with it? Harmony would never have done this!”

 

“Dad--”

 

He interrupted her again, “Stop it, I’m still talking, because apparently I have to drill it through that thick confused skull of yours that  _ you are a woman. _ I told you in third grade, and I’ll tell you now, women are to be with men. I don’t care about anything that’s happening these days, it’s horrid, you are not to be with another woman. You’re going to Hell, Melody, and frankly--you deserve it.”

 

“Oh, how  _ theatrical  _ of you--”

 

“Melody, if I have to tell you to shut the hell up one more time I will reach across this table and shut you up myself.” He shook his head at her, “I told your mother I wanted a boy. I always a boy, a boy who would inherit the family business. As soon as I heard it was a girl I wanted nothing to do with you, and I still want nothing to do with you. You’re not... _ gay _ , Melody. You may be divorced and ugly and a stain to the Chase name, but you are not gay. I won’t permit it, especially with that horrible Olivia Pope. How could you ever be with  _ her _ , the woman who ruined your marriage? I don’t understand you, Melody. I’ve never been more disappointed--

 

“Okay, that’s enough--”

 

“ _ I am talking!” _

 

“No,  _ I  _ am talking,  _ Mr. Chase _ . I’m done listening to you talk, I’ve heard enough of your voice for a thousand life times.” Her father’s words poisoned her, and she had had her fill. Enough was enough, and she had reached her limit. “I hate to burst your homophobic little bubble, but I am, indeed, gay. Sam wasn’t the only woman I’ve been with, Dad, and certainly not the only one in high school. There was Astrid, and Ally, and Cassie, oh, and Scottie, too. And in college--oh, in  _ college _ I had a  _ field day  _ with all the women, especially Carol. Yes, me and Carol had  _ lots _ of  _ sex  _ that year.” Her father was seething, an appalled and angry look on his face, “Oh, is that hard for you to hear? Too bad. You know what else is hard to hear? That you are ugly and horrible and a  _ mistake  _ all your life, that you are unwanted and your entire existence is something that needs to be swept under the rug and hidden from the neighbors, that you are invalid and nothing and just a silly little girl who doesn’t even deserve one minute of actual  _ love _ from her father.

 

“I am done with you. Absolutely  _ done _ . You are a homophobic, abusive bastard, or an asshole, whichever you prefer to be called. I love myself, dad. I finally,  _ finally  _ have learned to love myself after you. I love myself, I love my kids, my life, and I love Olivia. I have a family that loves me, and I have never been happier. So  _ fuck you _ , and you can shove all your nasty, homophobic, abusive retorts up your ass. Goodbye.” 

 

And then Mellie got up and left her father, left a life full of hatred and anger and tears behind. As she exited the diner, she finally let herself smile, the wind blowing through her hair and the sun shining, the world seemingly perfect. 

 

Mellie Grant was now finally the woman she always wanted to be.

  
  


**where the backlash is a bit worse than expected.**

  
  


The feeling of victory that made the colors of the world a bit brighter for Mellie did not last all that long. After breakfast, Mellie arrived at Olivia Pope & Associates to find Huck, Quinn, Marcus, and Olivia in a flurry of activity, the office flooded with phones ringing and TV’s blasting the new gossip involving Mellie Grant, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, and Mr. Richard Chase of the North Carolina Paper Company. 

 

“ _ Senator Grant was seen today in the throes of a raging argument with her father Richard Chase, CEO of North Carolina Paper Company, at Washington Diner. She was spotted with bandaged knuckles from what we can assume is a wound from hitting someone. Today we also saw President Grant on his way to a meeting, but his face--you see that, Jill?--yes, that is a bruised nose, from which we can assume is a wound from being punched. Now, if I do say so myself, Jill, Senator Grant may have gotten some of that rage from her father and punched her ex husband in the face. _ ”

 

“Oh my god.” Mellie groaned, making her presence known in the office. Everyone turned to look at her, all with phones clutched in hand.

 

Olivia raced towards Mellie, wrapping her in a hug, “I’d ask how it went, but…” Mellie smiled, cutting her off with a quick kiss (she ignored Quinn’s short squeal).

 

“It actually went great. He probably said some of the nastiest things I’ve ever heard him say, but I said some pretty nasty things too.” Over Olivia’s shoulder, she winked at Quinn, “I told him to shove his homophobic abuse up his ass and then I told him to fuck off. It was amazing.” 

 

Olivia was about to congratulate her (and maybe kiss her again), but Marcus spoke first, “That’s good and all, but your little argument is causing a lot of problems. The press is painting you out to be a rage filled bitch.”

 

It was not an exaggeration to say that everyone in the office spun on their heels to stare at him with scathing glares. 

  
  


“Do you even realize how big this is for Mellie?” 

  
  


“Marcus, are you kidding? Who cares what the press thinks, this is  _ huge _ .”

  
  


“Shut up, Marcus.”

  
  


“I  _ am _ a rage filled bitch.”

  
  


They all started spewing out retorts at once, and Marcus put his hands out, “I’m just stating the facts.” 

  
  


Mellie sighed and pushed the hair out of her eyes (Olivia was, of course, playing with it), “No, he’s right. What are we doing for damage control?”

  
  


They flew around the office for a bit, making phone calls to news stations explaining the story, that Mellie was still a little shaky after her concussion and fallen again, catching herself with her fist and therefore bruising them, they had no idea why President Grant had a bruised nose, and as for the father daughter argument, what two people don’t fight every once in awhile? Everything seemed to be going rather smoothly, the newscasts dying down and playing the “real” story, that is until Fitz appeared in the Press Room, bruised nose and all.

  
  


The office immediately quieted, and Mellie wondered what kind of tale Fitz was about to spin, or if her presidency was about to unravel before her eyes. She grabbed Olivia’s hand, squeezing lightly, and waited in bated silence for the press room to silence and for Fitz to start talking.

  
  


“ _ I understand there have been accusations against Senator Grant that claim my bruised nose is connected to her bruised knuckles.”  _

  
  


“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” Mellie whispered under her breath. The argument between her and her father, that could be controlled and spun into something different? But this? This could be her political future’s survival or horrible, slow, agonizing death. Olivia pulled her closer, murmuring that Fitz would pull through.

  
  


“ _ I want to discredit these accusations personally, here and now. Mellie and I have not seen each other since my dinner on Sunday, there is no possible way that she could have hit me in that time. And, really, I have a team of Secret Service agents with me at all times, do you really think Mellie could get through them to, what? Punch me? Mellie’s too smart for that. The story Olivia Pope and Associates is telling behind Mellie’s knuckles, I’m sure, is true. Thank you.” _

  
  


“Oh, thank god.” Mellie lay a hand on her heart, looking at the rest of the office.

  
  


Quinn blanched, “To be honest, I’m actually shocked he did that.” Huck nodded.

  
  


“I’m not,” Olivia smiled, much to the surprise of everyone else, “Do you really think the President of the United States, let alone  _ Fitz _ , would tell everyone that his ex wife punched him in the face? And that would lead to so much interrogation to find out why, and then he’d have to confess somewhere along the way that he showed up at our apartment to tell you you were a mistake and to be homophobic to us--why are you smiling?” Olivia noticed that Mellie wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying, she was too busy smiling at her.

  
  


“You said  _ our  _ apartment.” Mellie looked at Quinn, who was smiling just as wide, “She did say that, right? I’m not crazy?”

  
  


Quinn nodded, “You definitely said that, Liv.”

 

Olivia’s cheeks lit aflame, “I, oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean--”

 

“Shush! It was cute! Don’t take it back.” Mellie laughed, dipping down to kiss Olivia for a moment, her cheeks warm under Mellie’s touch. “Our apartment.” She mumbled against Olivia’s lips, and Olivia chuckled.

 

Mellie pulled back with a little gasp to look at the other people in the room. “Oh my god, I’m sorry. Is this weird? Us kissing?”

 

Marcus nodded, but Quinn and Huck shook their heads as if she’d asked something completely crazy, “It’s not even a huge difference from when you weren’t together. You were  _ that  _ gay for each other. You guys were married before you even started dating.”

 

“You’re crazy, I’m sure--” Mellie was interrupted by her phone ringing, and she held up a finger to Quinn. She picked up her phone and looked at who was calling, “Oh, boy.”

 

“Who is it?” Olivia asked, leaning over Mellie’s shoulder to look at the contact name, “Oh, boy.” Olivia repeated.

 

Mellie took a breath and answered the phone, “My big exit this morning kind of meant ‘don’t talk to me again.’”

 

“I cannot  _ believe  _ what the news is saying about me! My business is going to go down the drain, I’m getting calls from Harmony and her mother...after everything I’ve done for you, this is how you treat me?” Her father raged through the phone. And instead of feeling regretful, instead of dreading the meeting her father would inevitably plan, instead of shrinking under his words, Mellie just didn’t give a  _ damn _ . She didn’t give a damn that after everything she said at the diner, her father still didn’t get, she didn’t give a damn that he was yelling at her. She just didn’t  _ care _ .

 

Mellie took a deep breath, preparing to rebutt, but then stopped. “Stop calling me.” She hung up the phone, looking up at Olivia (who looked very concerned). “I just don’t care anymore. I’m done dealing with it.”

 

Olivia nodded, “Good. You deserve more than that.” She wrapped Mellie in a hug, trying to communicate the things she couldn’t say in front of the other three in the room, trying to say ‘you’re the strongest person I know,’ or ‘i’m hopelessly in love with you,’ through the press of arms against back or hands in hair.

 

“I deserve more than that.” Mellie repeated, saying it out loud because it was the first time she heard it, heard someone else say it instead of herself saying it tentatively, unrealistically, unbelievably. Mellie smiled to herself, the words forming on her tongue before she could stop herself. “Can we leave for our apartment soon?” 

 

Olivia shook her head with a smile, “Of course.”

  
  


**where olivia falls just a little bit more.**

  
  


After Mellie’s questionable phone call with her father, nothing extraordinary happened for the next hour or so, so Mellie and Liv decided to head home, Mellie gloating that it was “their” apartment the whole time and Olivia smiling so hard her cheeks started to hurt. Once they got home, though, the events of the day hit Mellie like a ton of bricks, “Let’s go to bed, babe.” Mellie pulled Olivia in by the waist, dragging them into the bedroom. 

 

“Babe is my thing.” Olivia smiled, kissing Mellie on the nose. “And I’m not tired, busy days keep me awake.”

 

Mellie chuckled, “Quinn told me you never really slept until I came along.” 

 

“What can I say? You’ve changed me for the better.” Olivia was at just the right height to see the light in her room make a little glare in Mellie’s eyes, and it made Mellie look like an angel descending from some sort of heaven, directly toward her. “You have very blue eyes.”

 

Mellie faked a gasp. “Do I? Never noticed.”

 

Olivia smacked her on the arm, “Shut up. I’m just saying, you have very blue eyes, and they’re very pretty.”

 

“Yeah?” Mellie smirked, finally reaching the bed as her knees buckled against it, tipping the two of them onto the bed. Olivia immediately took action, rolling on top of Mellie and kissing her fiercely, so hard that Mellie wouldn’t be surprised if there actually was a bruise there in the morning.

 

Olivia’s lips roamed from Mellie’s jaw to her ear to her neck, kissing and biting and licking the entire way, each sound that Mellie made fueling her to go even further south. Mellie’s breath hitched as Olivia bit down hard on her neck, “That’s going to leave a mark,” Liv smirked. 

 

“Liv, shush. Keep--” Mellie’s voice turned into a gasp as Olivia palmed her breast, rubbing hard over the fabric of Mellie’s dress, “Keep doing  _ that. _ ” 

 

Olivia complied, but only for a moment. She lowered her lips to Mellie’s, going in for a kiss but then stopping. She suddenly rolled off of Mellie and to the other side of the bed, “Alright, that’s enough for one night.”

 

Mellie, chest heaving, looked at her as if she was crazy. “ _ What _ ?” Mellie’s mind was hazy, Olivia on the other side of the bed and nowhere where Mellie needed her at the moment.

 

“On the way here you said you wanted to take a shower.” Olivia jerked her head to the bathroom, “Go take a shower.”

 

Seeing that Olivia wasn’t going to budge, Mellie laughed under her breath. “You torturous woman.” She leaned over to kiss Olivia one last time, “I’m gonna take a shower.”

 

Olivia laughed, pulling Mellie into an even deeper kiss than she had intended, pushing her tongue into Mellie’s mouth and loving the sound it elicited from her. 

 

“What are you playing at?” Mellie groaned, sitting back down on the bed to get better access to Olivia’s mouth and tongue and body.

 

Olivia laughed lightly, she herself wondering why she was stopping Mellie’s hand from snaking down, from her  _ own _ hand snaking down. She put her mouth to Mellie’s ear, “When we do this, we’re going to do it right. Not when we’re tired, not on a day like this.” Olivia’s hand roamed the expanse of Mellie’s back, thinking of that morning and Mellie asking her to zip up her dress, the smooth skin and bra that Olivia would like oh, so much to take off. “And it will be mindblowing.” 

 

Mellie’s mouth ran dry, Olivia’s hand the only thing she could really focus on. “I’m gonna go take a shower.” She rolled off the bed and made her way to the bathroom, her body throbbing and her mind clouded with the memory of Olivia’s hands on her.

 

“Take a cold one.” Olivia called from behind her.

 

Mellie laughed, shaking her head as she shut the bathroom door behind her. “Horrible, horrible woman.”


	12. Chapter 12

**where it’s two years later and it’s christmas in the white house.**

  
  


_ December 25th, 2018 _

  
  


On normal days, Mellie was roused awake by the gentle voice of Olivia, telling her to “Wake up and get to work, Madame Present.” Today, however, it was the body of her son jumping on top of her, yelling, “Livvie, Mommy, wake up! It’s  _ Christmas _ !” 

 

Mellie chuckled, rolling on her side to escape the barrage of fists and legs coming at her, “Is it? Didn’t notice.” Olivia groaned from under her pillow, but eventually receded from her escape when Teddy focused specifically on her, beating on her pillow and singing Jingle Bells in a voice akin to a screeching hawk.

 

“Alright, alright, I’m getting up!” Olivia yelled, shoving Teddy aside and sitting up, scowling at Mellie’s grin. “How come he targets me?” 

 

Mellie leaned forward to press a kiss to Olivia’s forehead, “Because you’re an easy target.” 

 

Teddy, oblivious to the fact that they has just been abruptly woken up, didn’t seem to grasp why they weren’t running into the other room to look at all the presents, “Santa came last night! Let’s  _ go _ !” He started pulling on Olivia’s pajamas, so she finally got out of bed and picked him up.

 

“Alright, I guess I’ll come too.” Mellie laughed, climbing out of bed and pulling Teddy out of Olivia’s arms. “Merry Christmas, you little troublemaker. Mommy and Liv were sleeping.”

 

“How could you sleep when there’s all these presents!” Teddy squealed and jumped out of Mellie’s arms, running out of the room and narrowly avoiding slamming into the doorframe. 

  
  


Mellie went to follow him, but Olivia pulled her aside for a second, wrapping her arms around Mellie’s body and bringing her in for a kiss, “Merry Christmas, babe.”

 

“Merry Christmas, Liv.” She went in for another kiss, temporarily focused on the wandering eyes of Olivia, but was stopped by Teddy skidding back into the room.

 

“Stop kissing and come see the presents!” He yelled, crossing his arms in such a way that Mellie and Olivia finally gave in, following him into the other room as they held hands. Teddy made a detour into Karen’s room, jumping on her bed as he did theirs and waking her up (she did much quicker than they had). The four of them finally made it into the other room, which was filled with an abundance of presents and a towering Christmas tree, piled with fancy ornaments as well as cheesy homemade ones. 

 

Olivia got them coffee and they settled down on the couch, laying a blanket between them as they watched Karen and Teddy open presents with a vigor neither of them could mask. As Karen opened up boxes of clothes and Teddy an absurd amount of toy trucks and trains, Mellie let herself smile at Olivia, who was resting her head against the couch and watching the kids. 

 

Somehow, someway, she’d managed to get everything she wanted. 

 

Mellie was President, the election swift and much easier than any of them had ever expected. There were no major bumps and bruises, no secret pictures of her and Olivia that would rupture the campaign--in actuality, they had swept Vargas and Cyrus away with little resistance. Apparently the country opted for an ice bitch rather than...well, whatever Vargas was. Mellie had been in so many interviews and public appearances and debates before the election that the media hardly had any time to write a thing about Vargas, keeping Senator Grant in the public eye and sending her right into the Oval. Just as she had imagined, Olivia stood by her side as she was sworn into office, looking at her with admiration and love and happiness. 

 

Of course, moving into the White House was a bit of a struggle, but they made it work. Olivia and Mellie, the political machines that they were, had managed to smuggle Olivia a room next to Mellie’s quarters. This room was quickly abandoned, though, and Olivia had made her presence permanent in Mellie’s room. They slept together and ate together and worked together, working as Madame President and Chief of Staff (the position Olivia had opted for, and Mellie gave graciously). There was still continued speculation of their relationship, still fan accounts and tweets and vicious articles, but no one took them seriously anymore--oh, if world knew how real their relationship really was.

 

Olivia had officially asked Mellie to be her girlfriend the night Mellie was sworn into office, after the inaugural ball. “Mellie, I know we have a... _ thing  _ of some sort. We’ve slept together and we’re together in every sense of the word, but I want to make it official. I want to be your girlfriend. I want to live together.” It didn’t really have to be said, but Olivia said it anyway, and they sealed the promise with a kiss. Ever since then, they’d been separable, political secret girlfriends that ran the country. There had been bumps between them, one of them serious enough to almost split them up, but they eventually came back together at night, one of them kissing the other’s forehead and whispering apologies through tears or kisses or soft caresses. 

 

Mellie was halfway through her first term, and it was exactly what she imagined it to be: stressful and horrible but powerful and amazing and everything she had ever wanted, and she had the added perk of a wonderful girlfriend and wonderful kids. 

 

Karen and Teddy welcomed Mellie and Olivia’s relationship with open arms. Teddy was now old enough to know not to tell anyone about his Mommy kissing his Auntie Liv (well, he knew this after a very long conversation and a big hug from his two favorite women). And Karen--well, her reaction was much alike Quinn’s, which is to say ecstatic and very much “I told you so.” The last two years had been as blissful as she could ever want.

 

So here Mellie was, content with everything her life had to offer, curled up with her wonderful, amazing girlfriend, her ex husband and father neatly tucked away into a corner of the world she didn’t have to deal with, watching her kids emanate the happiness she felt in every cell of her body.

 

“Mommy, there’s a present for you!” Teddy yelled, clutching a sizeable gift wrapped in red and green wrapping paper, “Wow, it’s  _ huge _ !”

 

Mellie raised an eyebrow, “Who’s it from?”   


 

“It doesn’t say.” He picked it up with ease, surprising himself, “Mommy, look at how strong I am! I’m Captain America!” He wobbled toward the couch, his face covered by a big sparkly bow on top of the gift.

 

Teddy tipped the present onto Mellie’s gift, and she double checked the name tag--no name. She looked at Olivia, knowing this is exactly the type of stunt she would pull, but her expression was just as confused as Mellie’s.

 

Everyone in the room was watching her with curiosity, so Mellie ripped the wrapping off, revealing a plain white box. She opened the box only to find a similar one on a smaller scale. Mellie looked back at Olivia, and saw a sliver of a smile. “What is this, Liv?”

 

Olivia feigned more confusion, “I guess you’ll just have to keep opening to find out.”

 

Mellie began to argue, but Karen interrupted her (after making knowing eye contact with Olivia), “Just open it, Mom.”

 

She opened the box and found another one inside, “Are you kidding?”

 

“Keep going!”   


 

“What is this?”   


 

“Keep  _ going _ !”

 

Mellie groaned, “Okay, but don’t pretend I don’t see you recording me, Karen.”

 

Something in Mellie’s stomach was starting to twist, whether it be in excitement or fear or apprehension, she didn’t know, all she knew was that everyone was staring at her, and she could feel Olivia’s smile. 

  
  


Third box, fourth box, fifth box. With each new layer of cardboard Mellie whined just a bit more, the excitement (she determined it was excitement she was feeling) building. 

 

As she took the sixth box out of its wrapping, she got a flicker of an idea, just a tiny little blossom of an idea in the back of her brain, and her heart started thumping outrageously loud. The box was small enough to be a--no, no, it couldn’t be. It was probably a nice necklace or a gift card or something stupid, it was definitely not the thing she thought it could be, no way at all. 

 

She lifted the top off the sixth box with shaking hands, lifting another out. This was obviously the last one, the final box was inside this one, this could make or break it. Mellie unraveled the bow, the top tumbling to the floor and Mellie’s heart practically beating out of her chest as it revealed a black case, small enough and possibly containing a--

 

Olivia reached into her lap and grabbed the case, her smile breaking across her face. “Mellie--”

 

“Liv, what are you doing?” Mellie whispered, her hands shaking so bad that Olivia reached out to steady them.”

 

“Mellie Grant, I love you more than words could possibly explain.” The words tumbled out of her mouth like water, and she opened the little black box. Mellie felt a tear slip down her face as a diamond ring was presented before her, glittering bright but not nearly as bright as Olivia’s eyes, staring directly at her. “I love you so much that I can’t even take it sometimes, so much it hurts. I love your fierceness and that you’re an ice queen but an adorable, loveable ice queen--”

 

“Olivia--”

 

“And that you won’t shut up even when I’m proposing to you.” They both laughed, the both of them crying just a little bit, just the right amount. “I love Teddy and Karen and the little family we’ve constructed, and that we don’t even have to let anyone know to know that it’s real, what we have. When I think of my future, I think of this--exactly this, nothing else. I think of us, and of Teddy and Karen, together and happy, and there’s nothing in the world that I’d rather want. It happened so long ago, but I still remember how it felt to kiss you for the first time, how it felt to sit on  _ The Liberty Report  _ and be accused of dating you, and wondering why it didn’t seem crazy at all. I remember all the dresses you’ve worn, and all the times you’ve ever smiled at me, and all the bowls of chocolate ice cream I’ve ever given you. I want to be there to remember all your future smiles and dresses and bowls of ice cream. I want to be here forever, with you.”

 

“So,” Olivia nudged the ring towards Mellie, “Will you marry me?”

 

Mellie was silent for a moment, her breath and sob and laugh and smile all caught in her throat. She just nodded, and after nodding for a second and seeing Olivia’s relieved smile, she broke out into a smile, “Yes, of course, of course, yes. Yes, I will marry you. Oh my god, I love you.” Mellie crushed Olivia’s face against hers, both of their tears mingling in, and Mellie couldn’t believe this was happening.

 

Olivia pulled back and took the ring out of its casing, slipping it on Mellie’s (still shaking) finger. Mellie looked at her kids, who were both grinning as wide as could be. She sprung off the couch, hauling Teddy up into her arms and spinning him around, “Mommy’s getting married!” She yelled, kissing his giggling smile.

 

“Mommy’s getting married!” He squealed, “Karen, Mommy’s getting married!”

 

Karen stood up and enveloped Mellie into a tight hug, burying her face into her hair. She abruptly pulled back and eyed Olivia, “I told you she would say yes.”

 

“You knew about this?” Mellie gasped at their conspiratorial glances, “And you didn’t tell me?”

  
  


They just laughed, and Olivia got off the couch to come hug Mellie again. As they all stood in a tight clump, hugging amongst the torn wrappings of immaculately wrapped presents, wearing raggedy pajamas and smiling wide, Mellie knew this was where she wanted to be, and where she was going to be, for the rest of her life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I think I might be done.”
> 
>  
> 
> “Mellie, you’re the biggest bitch I know. Don’t tell me you can’t do this.”
> 
>  
> 
> Unfortunately, I am not Mellie Grant, and I do not have an Olivia Pope standing in a fancy Congress bathroom in a fancy checkered coat to prod me a little farther. So, I think I might be done. 
> 
>  
> 
> This fic has been such an amazing experience for me--it’s the first time I’ve written anything multi-chapter, and the first real Mellivia fic I’ve written. However, it’s gotten out of hand, and writing it feels more like a burden than something I used to enjoy. Have no fear, though, I have tons of new ideas for Mellivia fan fictions, I have a whole Google Docs full of them. I’m ready to embark on a new journey, full of true-to-character plot and dialogue, which I think lovers of gay liberty lacks. I now know I have it in me to write something this long, and I feel like I can do it again, but this time have it be so much better.
> 
>  
> 
> I have never felt more loved than I have posting each new chapter, my email flooded with Kudos and Bookmarks and wonderful, wonderful comments. Your reviews and reads and comments have meant the world to me, and I will cherish and reflect upon them for a long, long time. I appreciate you all sticking by my side (and Mellie and Olivia’s) throughout this story. You all are the best, and let’s hope we get to see a love story between these two wonderful women actually play out on screen! 
> 
>  
> 
> It has come to my attention that what I have done with Marcus and Mellie could be considered racist, and I sincerely and deeply apologize for that. As a white person, I cannot refute these statements or recant what I have done, because I do not have the right to say that I’m not racist. I would just like to make it known that it was never my intention, and that I sincerely apologize for offending anyone. 
> 
>  
> 
> Again, thank you all for this wonderful journey! I love you all so much! xoxox
> 
>  
> 
> \--Jackie


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